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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29109096">To Create One's Path</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KonshiroCrobrasha/pseuds/KonshiroCrobrasha'>KonshiroCrobrasha</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BAMF Jaune Arc, F/M, Genderbending, Good Parent Raven Branwen, Good Sibling Jaune Arc, Happy Couple Taiyang and Raven, Happy couple Qrow and Summer, Jaune Arc is a ball of sunshine, Jaune Arc-centric, Jaune has a lot of parents to talk to, Jaune is going to have to do a lot of explaining, Lie Ren is a girl, Overpowered Jaune Arc, Protective Qrow Branwen, Qrow Branwen is Ruby Rose's Parent, Raven Branwen Stayed, Sober Qrow Branwen, Summer Rose (RWBY) Lives, Wolf Faunus Ruby Rose (RWBY)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:40:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>72,716</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29109096</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KonshiroCrobrasha/pseuds/KonshiroCrobrasha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There was no easy way to put it. Jaune was royally screwed from the get go. First being a God, but then banished to be mortal by his father for no apparent reason, he has to work his way back up to Godhood, lest he fail and be erased along with everything he holds dear. However, with the friends, family and lovers that he makes along the way, he will learn that he isn't alone. With the human spirit, nothing is set in stone. The very fate of Remnant rests in his hands. Jaune Arc will save this world from both his father and itself. Live or die, this savior of man will see this path to it's end. With unwavering resolve and a burning passion, there are no limits to the human Soul!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jaune Arc &amp; Amber, Jaune Arc &amp; Qrow Branwen, Jaune Arc &amp; Raven Branwen, Jaune Arc &amp; Summer Rose, Jaune Arc &amp; Taiyang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/ Glynda Goodwitch, Jaune Arc/ Lie Rei (Rule 63), Jaune Arc/ Penny Polendina, Jaune Arc/ Team RWBY, Jaune Arc/Neopolitan, Jaune Arc/Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc/Velvet Scarlatina, Qrow Branwen/ Summer Rose, Raven Branwen/ Taiyang Xiao Long</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Beginning of Something More</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Many believe the probability of another universe is preposterous. Some believe that there is not only another universe, but hundreds of thousands of universes existing at once. this is the belief known as the Multiverse theory. While some believe that that a universe is created when even a single person makes a simple decision, others believe that many are being created regardless if anybody does anything. On this topic, people believe that there are many gods, others believe that there is a single, divine entity. But none believe in a being that manifested itself from a single particle of nothingness. This being would go on to create the multiverse. However when 'The Being' grew tired of seeing nothing but floating rocks and Giant balls of heated gas, they created another of his kind. Made to create life.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When created, 'The Live' was given half of 'The Beings' power, and was told to go out and create whatever they pleased. from there, 'The Live' would go on to create in It's new playing ground. eventually they would come across a set of planets orbiting a single star. It was on a whim that he would create on a planet that seemed to be the remnants of a much bigger planet. Thus he named the planet, Remnant. He wished to create the most advanced life forms he had ever created. Wanting something truly extraordinary. So he got to work. it would take several 'days' to create the life they wanted, making sure that every aspect of them would be near perfect. However, the time he was going to give his creations the spark of life, 'The Being' manifested itself in front of 'The Live', who then spoke onto them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em> "If you give these creatures life, then i will be forced to banish you from Divinity. I will send you to the planet you seem cherish so much. You will be a mere mortal. stripped of your divine powers. But, I will allow you to keep some of your abilities. I will allow this, only because should you go through with this foolish decision, when I see you again, I wish to be able to entertain myself when disposing of you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Out of a rebellious rage, 'The Live' gave not only the spark of life, but also gave his creations intelligence that should have taken them centuries to obtain. and true to their word, as soon as 'The Live' did so, 'The Being' zapped 'The Live' and sent them to down to Remnant in a mystical prison that wouldn't open for eons. And in doing so, 'The Live's' power was scattered, lost. The access energy seeping into 'The Live's' creations and corrupting them ever so slightly while also giving them a far greater potential that neither of the two gods could ever have predicted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>With his promise fulfilled, 'The Being' turned away and went to continue their wandering of the cosmos, waiting patiently for when 'The Live' would awaken.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>This. is the story, of a single man, and a path they must forge with their own sweat and blood. a path to become not only a strong warrior, but also, a compassionate lover. this is the tale of the Savior of Man.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. First Encounter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It would be another eon and a half until 'The Live' would awake from their slumber. As they opened their eyes, they revealed a cobalt gaze, showing the minimalist of emotion. As 'The Live' inspected the room, they were able to see that they were in some sort of large, stone room of sorts. moss growing on the walls, snow covering the floors and ice in the corners of the room. 'The Live' tried to move their legs, but noticed that they were attached to the wall, along with his arms, by thick steel chains that hung him a good twenty feet above the ground.</p><p>"..."</p><p>'The Live' tried to make the space around him warp to his needs, but was unable to. Seeing that his powers were not working, he simply used brute force to break the restraints, and fell to the floor with a harsh thud. 'The Live' simply got back up as if they didn't even feel pain. it was then that 'The Live' noticed that he had a completely different physical appearance than that he was used to. he was shirtless, revealing a toned chest and stomach, worn jeans that let the images of equally toned legs show, . his skin was a of a pale color, with golden locks coming from his head. He also took note that they were a bit shorter than they remembered. His over all appearance was not at all different from an eight year old boy.</p><p>"Interesting." 'The Live' said, before being caught off guard by their own voice. it sounded young, soft, and only a fraction of the masculinity that it once held. 'So<em> this is what a human body feels like...wait, humans?...HUMANS!' </em>'The Live' thought, trying to walk, but ended up stumbling and slipping on the ice and snow. After getting back up, 'The Live' once again tried to move, but at a slower pace, trying not to repeat his own mistake.</p><p>"Okay...the exit is only a few feet away, just a little more and I'll be out." 'The Live' said, still slightly wobbly in his footing, but otherwise okay. He could here the distinct sounds of battle just outside the doorway that seemed to be letting in a bit too much light for him to see through.</p><p>When he finally came through the exit, he was greeted by the most gruesome sight he's ever seen. Corpses everywhere, blood splattered in the snowy plains of the clearing in the middle of a dense forest.</p><p>Though...</p><p>'<em>Oh no! Who would do this? My creations...massacred like animals. Wait...i don't remember making them with black fur...or exterior bone plating. and i don't think they're suppose to dissolve either...are these even human?</em>' 'The Live' thought, confused as to why the humans looked so much different from what he remembered designing them as.</p><p>He was disrupted from his thoughts, however when he noticed a white cloaked woman further into the clearing.</p><p>"Hello?" 'The Live' called out, making the woman jump and point her...weapon at him. It would seem like the weapon itself was just a scythe, simple in design, but the woman seemed to be trained well with it, judging by her battle stance. Of course, 'The Live' didn't know any of this, so he kept walking towards the woman. As soon as the woman saw the...'young' boy, she was instantly caught off guard. When she was sent on this mission, she was meant to just decrease the grim population to a reasonable number.</p><p>"W-what? Where did you come from? How did you even get here?" The woman asked, putting away her scythe. 'The Live' on the other hand, was perplexed at this woman's attitude.</p><p>"You...destroyed all of those creatures." 'The Live' said, looking at the woman in front of him, seemingly sizing him up. he wasn't sure if he liked that or not, but let it go. However, other than that, she seemed to be friendly enough. So he decided that putting his well being into the hands of this person wouldn't be too bad...'<em>is that an acoustic guitar playing in the background?' </em>'The Live' thought.</p><p>"What i did doesn't matter right now. what matters right now is that you should tell me what your doing here. Lets start off with your name, okay?." The woman asked, kneeling down to 'The Live' and placing both her hands on his shoulders, looking into his deep cobalt eyes with her sharp silver ones...<em>'Okay i'm pretty damn sure that guitar strumming is getting lou-'</em></p><p>Before 'The Live' could respond, a giant foot loomed over them in a shadow, and came down on the two unsuspecting people, and then-</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>To Be Continued...</strong>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Second First Encounter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It seemed like the woman was too busy checking him over, to notice the giant foot about to crush them, so it seemed like it was up to him to save them. So he grabbed her by the waist and leapt to the side And not a second later did the Foot crash into the earth which they were just moments ago. And the crash seemed to knock the woman out of her shock, as she immediately righted herself in mid air and assume (What 'The Live' could only guess) a battle stance, Scythe in hand and ready to make weird black monster puree.</p><p>"Don't worry little one, I'll take care of this, you just-" The woman tried to convey, but was interrupted by a flicker of movement that sent her careening towards the tree line towards their left. And when 'The Live' focused, he saw that the figure that had knocked the nice woman aside was in fact a man. But he seemed to have a few extra appendages. An elongated tail with some kind of bulbous tip at the end. And while 'The Live' <em>would </em>have liked to know this new persons name. They just hurt someone that he believes is nice. And he feels that he should return the favor.</p><p>"That's not very nice." 'The Live' said, seeing the man look in his direction, and for a brief moment, he had a look of surprise. But it just as quickly morphed into a crooked smirk.</p><p>"<em>Ooh</em>, i get to kill an eye witness too! Oh goody." The man exclaimed as though he were a small boy being given a sweet treat. And that didn't sit well with 'The Live', so as soon as the man said that, 'The Live' leapt forward quicker than light and socked the guy right in the gut, sending him flying into the giant creature that had previously tried to crush 'The live' and his new companion that was still trying to re-orientate herself. Speaking of which, he should probably try and help her.</p><p>So 'The Live' went to walk over to the woman who was now trying to rush back to the open clearing to fight whatever might be able to hurt the 'small child'. But was surprised ro find that he was casually walking up to her with a somewhat worried look on his face.</p><p>"W-wait, What? Where did...and what?" The woman tried to ask but was still a little dazed from her abrupt launch into the woods, and her less than comforting crash through some of the trees. and she figured that whatever knocked her into the woods was strong, and now to just see this 'child' come to her unharmed raised a couple of flags. But those could wait until after she made sure that the area was secure. Well, as secure as it could get at least.</p><p>I mean, these are the Grimlands were talking about here.</p><p>So she lead 'The Live' back to the clearing where she saw that a man was now getting back up from the carcass of a dead Goliath. And while she would normally, under any other circumstances, try to <em>help</em> said person, she figured that this was the person that launched her in the first place. So she promptly got back into a fighting stance in front of 'The Live' as if to protect him.</p><p>"Stay back, I'll handle this." She said seriously, keeping her eyes on the man that was now angrily walking towards them.</p><p>"Oh, you've got some serious death wish to pull off a stunt like that! Now your blood will taste all the more sweet." The man said, licking a bit of blood that seeped out from the corners of his mouth.</p><p>"I have no idea who you are, but I'm going to stop you in any way I can. But if you choose to surrender peacefully, then that will make this go on much quicker." The woman said, keeping her wits about her. The man merely cackled and gave an eerily dark smile.</p><p>"Oh, but the fight is what's so fun about hunting. First, you seek out your pray" The man said, walking towards the woman and 'The Live' at a slow pace.</p><p>"You then choose a fitting weapon" He then pulled out a jagged and black colored sword from the back of his waist.</p><p>"Aim" He gets into a fighting stance and tenses his muscles.</p><p>"And strike"</p><p>In less than a second their two blades collide, Sparks fly everywhere and the sound of a metal clang could be heard for miles. Surprisingly, the woman wasn't fazed by the attack at all, but if she was, she was very good at hiding it.</p><p>"Well well well. It looks like this is going to be such a fun game. let's make this last, shall we?" The man said gaining a maniacal grin.</p><p>"Ladies first."</p><p>"Oh, a comedian i see. Sounds like I'll get a good laugh out of you before you fall to my blade. and your little friend there is going to be next. And don't worry, I'll send your family a nice little gift basket to send my regards." He said maniacally as he tried to push down on the blade, only to be pushed back by her astounding strength.</p><p>"Over my dead body." She said, determination rolling off of her.</p><p>"I'll make sure of it." He said, grin only widening.</p><p>So the two stood there, waiting for the other to launch the first attack. 'The Live' looking on by the trees he retreated back to, as instructed. It would seem like the two would be starring at each other for eternity, never once flinching or backing down. The very air seemed to grow tense. It came to the point where even the forest around them seemed to shake in anticipation. And as if the world stopped spinning to allow the two to move instead of it, they struck.</p><p>She dashed in at near inhuman speeds, only rivaled by his. As they drew near, they ever so slightly adjusted their weaponry so as to strike. And finally the two crossed paths. and to any onlooker, it would seem like time had stopped for only but a second, before continuing as leaving both of them still standing, seeming unharmed.</p><p>"You seem even more talented then I thought. So lets both get serious. No holding back. Because I <em>always</em> Love a good full on battle." He said.</p><p>"So then, if were going to fight full throttle, then i would at least want to know the name of the person that I'm going to defeat." The woman said, eyes hard with focus and sharp with precision.</p><p>"Well, I suppose I can play with my food a bit before eating. So I'll entertain the thought. My name is Tyrian. what's yours? After all, I do believe it's only right that if i tell you mine that you tell me yours." The man now known as Tyrian said, twirling around his sword.</p><p>"Summer. Now that that's out of the way, how about we settle this?" Summer said, her posture becoming more rigid. At this, Tyrian cackled once more before getting into a similar stance.</p><p>"Lets dance little lady."</p><p>At this, they once again charged. and moving even faster than before, they traded lightning fast and precise blows. But neither seemed to be landing any solid hits, for whatever they threw at the other, being a jab, a swing, or even a punch was deflected, parried or blocked. And this went on for what felt like hours, until eventually, Summer seemed to be slowing. The once large miss from a strike becoming near miss jabs. And his assault did not look to be tiring at all.</p><p>"What? Feeling tired? Well that's too bad, i was just staring to have fun! But oh well, i'll at least know that this was one of my best missions yet. So as a wise man once said-" Tyrian was saying, his stinger starting to come closer and closer to her abdomen, until 'The Live' came from his hiding place, feeling like Summer needed a hand, and, well...</p><p>
  <strong>"DODGE!"</strong>
</p><p>"Wha-"</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>*Crack*</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>Tyrian was then punched once again in the stomach and sent flying into the forest, going through a few trees before stopping. Looking back at a shocked Summer, he held a hand for her kneeled form to take.</p><p>"Are you okay? That guy was being a real...What's a good insult i can use? Hmmm...Aha! He's a real Avocado-Muncher! Yes, that will suffice quite nicely. But anyway, Are you hurt?" 'The live asked, picking her up from her kneeling position while talking. And she was still quite confused about how he obtained so much strength, but thought to call in an extract to get them out of there. While she was making the call, They both heard an explosion in the background, turning to the source of the sound, they also heard yelling.</p><p><em><strong>"YOU SON OF A WHORE! TYRIANS GOING TO SHRED YOU TO PIECES! TYRIANS GOING MAKE YOU DRINK YOUR OWN BLOOD, THEN TYRIAN'S GOING TO GOUGE YOUR EYES OUT WITH YOUR OWN GODDAMN. FINGERS!"</strong></em> Tyrian yelled in a bloody rage. He was making large leaps towards them, and while summer was about to get back into position, 'The Live' rushed past her and met Tyrian half way. He was promptly bombarded with hacks and slashes untraceable by even the trained eye. Even Summer was having a bit of trouble keeping up with his movements. But it would seem the "child" was holding him off pretty easily by the looks of it. Some of Tyrians strikes looked like they actually hit him, only for the after image to fade moments later.</p><p>"This is boring. You're boring me. you're boring everybody. Try harder," 'The Live said, gaining an annoyed expression. Tyrian's anger only seeming to grow. But his attacks also seemed to grow in sluggishness.</p><p>"Alright, I've had enough of this. Say bye-bye to your tail and arm Avocado-Muncher." 'The Live' said, before throwing another two punches. One towards his arm, and another to his tail. And since Tyrian thought that he could tank the blows, being in his irrationally enraged state, did nothing to try and block them. So 'The Lives' strikes went through, and then no more appendages.</p><p>"<em><strong>AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHGHHHAAAAAAHHHH!"</strong></em> Tyrian screamed, having both previously mentioned limbs literally blown off. Blood and bone shrapnel flying into the light of day. The appointed Assassin then slumped to his knees and cradled the bloody stump that used to be his left arm.</p><p>"Dear me, would you <em>shut up </em>already? You're so annoying." 'The live' said, rolling his eyes at the pathetic figure of Tyrian. And after a short time of slow and heavy breathing, Tyrian stood back up and pulled out a small black sphere looking thing from somewhere on his person.</p><p>"I swear, i will get my revenge! Y-you freak!" Yeah, like he's one to talk.</p><p>"Mark my words. The next time we meet, i will have beaten you! so you better watch your back from now on little man! 'Cause Tyrian always gets his kill! Always!" Tyrian said, raising the sphere above himself. And with a snarl, Tyrian threw the sphere down and was engulfed in a midnight smog before vanishing with the wind.</p><p>"Huh. Neat." 'The Live' said, taking a half interested face. He then turned back to where the clearing was to try and find Summer, only to find her standing behind him. Arms crossed over her chest and a single eyebrow raised.</p><p>"Mister, you've got some explaining to do." Summer said, looking behind 'The Live' to see that those two punches he threw also kind of, uh...Made a new pathway for new Settlements? Pfft, yeah right! the trees, the ground, hell, even the mountains in the background seemed to have been damaged.</p><p>"A Lot of explaining to do."</p><p>"Well, um you see, what had happened was...Natural selection." 'The Live' said calmly, seeing what her reaction would be. But she didn't budge an inch. in fact, now that he looked around, nothing was moving. The leaves and dirt that were still settling from the punches were suspended in mid air...strange. It's almost as if someone stopped time. but that's preposterous, the only other divine being that he knew could do that was-</p><p>"Hello, <em>Live</em>"</p><p>His Father...'The Being'</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Family Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So...how have you been?" 'The Being' asked in a sort of awkward silence.</p><p>"About as good as an outcast child can be. You?" 'The Live' said quite coldly.</p><p>"fairly good. Managed a few planets here, destroyed a couple of universes there. Why all the seriousness. I'm just looking after my Son. Speaking of which, I haven't given you a proper name yet, have I?" 'The Being asked, gaining a contemplative expression...Or what would be a contemplative expression. 'The Being' was actually just a figure of white that had a black outline. He was about Seven feet tall, and had an average build about him-er-or them, there really cant be a gender for their kind of...Anatomy. But in any case, his entire body had a black outline, as if to accentuate his figure.</p><p>"Then i suppose that you should give yourself one as well." 'The Live' said, trying not to get on his father's bad side. Because as strong as he was. He was nowhere near the level of strength his father was. Not even before he was stripped of his place in the heavens.</p><p>"Hm, yes. That seems only fair. Though i believe my name should be Dux Omnium. Has a nice ring to it don't you think?" 'The Being', now addressed as Omnium said. And if 'The Live' was amused at the narcissism, he wasn't showing it.</p><p>"Well. as for your name..." Omnium started to think, but this entire time, 'The Live' was growing more irritated by the second.</p><p>"What are you even doing here? Are you here to finish me off? Because i just want you to know that i wont go down without a fight." 'The Live' said, placing himself into a battle position. But all Omnium did was look on in what seemed to be amusement.</p><p>"Strait to the point i see. Well if you must know. i Came here to <em>Help</em> you."</p><p>"That's a load of lies. Why would you help someone who you banished for <em>No apparent reason.</em>" 'The Live' said, voice full of malice. Omnium just seemed to wave it off.</p><p>"Well, from what I've seen, you have no chance of defeating me...At all, in the foreseeable future. So i thought, '<em>Hey, why not train up this lowlife to be a formidable challenge for me?'</em> And so I'm here. And how about Jaune for a name? Jaune...Noir. Yes that shall be your name." Omnium said, snapping his fingers.</p><p>"Fine. Now how are you going to help me?" 'The Live', now associated as Jaune asked. And although he wouldn't admit it in front of his father, he actually liked the name. That, and he still has to keep in mind the gap between them in power...Even though he finds his fathers reasoning completely degrading.</p><p>"I am going to allow you some of your powers back. like controlling the elements, time dilation, and I guess i can allow a little something else. Here." Omnium said, snapping his fingers once again, and then Jaune felt a surge of power flow through him. And not only that, but he felt his mind become, much more...open? is that the word?</p><p>"I see your confused. Well, since i know just pure strength and speed aren't enough to even begin to entertain me. i have allowed that if you ever need information, just ask for it, and the answer will appear within your mind. And if i may suggest. tone down your power a bit. Because something like that" Omnium said, gesturing to the partly destroyed forest. "Doesn't just go unnoticed. And since you already did this, i will help. Firstly, when you speak to this woman again, i will want you to say that it was your Semblance. And that Your Semblance is to be able to amplify your strength. And before i go, i want you to say that your family was part of one of the settlements out here and they were killed by the Grim. Now I'm sure that you have many questions, But I have other business to attend." Omnium instructed, turning around to leave, but stopped to look at Jaune again. "Oh yes, i almost forgot. here. that should cover up your Semblance story. Now, i want you to train hard for our battle. Because i want the entire Multiverse to see you fall to your knees and admit defeat. For that is your <strong>Destiny</strong>." Omnium stated, stretching his arm out to point at him before Jaune was engulfed in a white light</p><p>And just like that, they were gone, and Jaune used his new searching capabilities to figure out what some of the things that his father had told him about while they were talking. But that last word left a bad taste in his mouth. So when time started to move again, he once again faced Summer and prepared to give the only information he got from his <em>"All Mighty Creator"</em> Because whatever Omnium says, is absolute. And any who even question His word will be dealt with in an ungodly amount of torture and suffering.</p><p>"..."</p><p>"I'm Waiting." Summer said, tapping her finger on her still crossed arms.</p><p>"well...<em>That</em>, was my Semblance. It allows me to amplify my strength speed, durability, and reflexes." Jaune said, going back to his calm and serene mood from moments ago. And While Summer caught on to this, she said nothing of it.</p><p>"Your Semblance? Well, it's nothing too new for me. But i must say" Summer said, looking at the destruction in front of her. "Its certainly something i wasnt expecting from a boy of your age." Summer concluded, looking back to Jaune. "But before anything else happens, i just want to get some things out of the way. So..." Summer started, calming dawn and kneeling down to Jaunes height. "What's you name?"</p><p>"...*sigh* My name is Jaune. Jaune Noir." Jaune said, looking from his feet to her eyes. He really couldn't think of another name for the life of him. And if his <em><strong>father</strong></em> wanted him to use the name, he's certainly not going to disobey. Not for now at least,</p><p>"Jaune Noir huh? So where are you from exactly? If you don't mind me asking." Summer questioned, keeping her voice soft, as to try and give some comfort to the 'Small Child'.</p><p>"I come from these woods. A small settlement that was trying to forge itself here. But sadly...the village was overrun with grim before we were even finished with the construction. My parents were part of the defenses. But they opted to try and protect me instead. They fought so hard. But just like everyone else...They were torn and ripped to shreds before my eyes. And their screams and wails of pain vibrated in my mind. So when the Grim turned on me, i was stuck between two things. To flee and test my luck in outrunning them, or <strong>fight</strong>." At this, Jaune clenched his fists and jaw, his Aura flaring up as he did so. And it was this that caught Summer off guard. He had a lot of Aura. Like, an uncanny amount of it...he had even more than she did...</p><p>"And it was on that day that i discovered my power. I didn't know what it was at first, but i can say for certain that it's my Semblance. But i don't know the full extent of it just yet; This is actually the first time I've applied it to another human being." Jaune concluded, easing his muscled, and his Aura receding back into his body. "And although it may have been a brash but necessary call, I'm a bit...scared that my power can do that to someone. I don't want to kill anybody. I want to..." Jaune started again, thinking about his father and what they would do to his creations when they kill him. "I want to protect everyone. From any threat that may come their way." Jaune finished, a fire-y determination in his cobalt eyes. Summer just looked on and saw a bit of her brother in him...or at least when he was younger that is.</p><p>"Do you really want to protect people?" Summer asked after a small while. And Jaune just nodded curtly. the fire in his eyes ever growing. "Well then, come with me. I want to introduce you to a profession that i am very fond of; and if your dream is what you say it is, then it's perfect for you." Summer stated, turning around to see a Flying machine coming towards them. And Jaune's curiosity was peaked.</p><p>"What would that be?" Jaune asked as the Machine reached their destination and landed in the clearing in front of them. Summer merely turned her head to him, walking towards the big construction of metal.</p><p>"What you want to be Jaune, is a person fully dedicated to defending Humanity from people like that Tyrian guy. A Shield to defend from the creatures of darkness such as the Grim." Summer said, making Jaune think back to those two enemies he faced just a bit ago.</p><p>"You Jaune want to be someone like me..."</p><p>"A Huntsman."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Civilization</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"A...Huntsman?" Jaune asked aloud, more searching in his newly gifted search engine than to his new companion. But since this seemed like a normal response to her statement, she decided to answer for him. So she walked up to him and knelt down to his height, giving him a gentle and motherly smile.</p><p>"Yes, a Huntsman." Summer said, placing her hands on his shoulders. She was sure that he was processing all of that in his own way. Completely ignoring the fact that he was the one to single-handedly defeat that psychopath from before. He seemed like a small innocent child, not unlike her own. In fact, now that she thought about it, he dint have a home yet did he? Well, she could reckon that he should stay with her family until he could apply to a huntsman academy. And she can learn more about him along the way!</p><p>"Someone to help fight the darkness, and the people who would want to do harm to others..." Jaune's thoughts immediately went to his father, and he scowled.</p><p>'<em>That man probably created those creatures of darkness to try and get rid of my creations without getting his hands dirty.'</em> Jaune thought, but then turned to the idea of training and becoming stronger.</p><p>'<em>...Maybe even stronger than my father...' </em>Jaune thought, with a small amount of hope in his eyes. But the more he thought about it, the more that hope grew, and with it came a stead fast determination.</p><p>'<em>If becoming a Huntsman will really help me become strong enough to win my fight against my father, then...'</em></p><p>"I'll do it." Jaune stated, looking into her eyes with a fiery determination burning within his eyes. Summer could tell that this boy was going to do great things. if the skill he had while fighting wasn't evidence enough, then the fact that not only was he able to survive on his own out here in the Grimm lands, but his aura and Semblance also seem to do extraordinary things. And with the right training, mentor, and atmosphere, he could become the greatest Huntsman to ever live! But first...</p><p>"Well then, if it's okay with you, then i would like you to come with me to <em>my </em>home." Summer said, standing up and gesturing to the flying...thing behind her. He looked at her, then to the floating object, and then back to her.</p><p>"You live in that?" Jaune asked.</p><p>'<em>Not what i expected, but i really cant say anything, seeing as I never really had a place to call home in the first place.'</em> Jaune thought, gaining a somewhat somber expression, but she didn't seem to notice. She just giggled and shook her head.</p><p>"No, silly. That's a Bullhead, it's going to take us <em>to</em> my home." Summer said with a smile. And Jaune just gained a curious expression on his face.</p><p>"Bullhead? Why do you call it that?" Jaune asked, somewhat perplexed as to how this thing could be compared to the...animal.</p><p>"Well, a very long time ago, when the Kingdoms had a...disagreement, they created these flying machines to carry people across for distances. and occasionally, if either the Grimm or other opposing forces attacked these airships, that could withstand a lot of damage, much like how a Bulls skull is so thick. Thus the name, 'Bullhead.' Understand?" Summer explained, walking towards the Bullhead. He thought about it for a moment, but then just shrugged and figured it made sense.(Of course, that's after he did a quick search)</p><p>"Well, that's a neat story. But why did the Kingdoms start fighting?" Jaune asked, following just behind her.</p><p>"Well, it's because they didn't like the way that the other was doing things."</p><p>"Okay, but why?"</p><p>"Because they thought it was wrong."</p><p>"Well that's a dumb reason to start a fight." Jaune said, furrowing his brows. <em>'I mean sure, i can understand it, but is they really didn't want to follow one another's rules, then why couldn't they just mind their own business and leave each other alone?'</em> Jaune thought. Once again thinking about his father, he immediately understood the reasoning. They wanted to do their own thing. to be their own person. But there's always going to be someone else trying to stop you. So the only two options you would be left with, are to either sit there, do nothing, and <em>hope</em> that they don't try and take you out. Or you can retaliate and try to take them out before they can do the same to you.</p><p>"Well, that may be, but it still happened, so we can't really change that can we?" Summer said, more of a statement than a question. he just sighed and decided that he should just focus on the journey ahead.</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>(Time break brought to you by a chibi Jaune freaking out about flying in a Bullhead for the first time.)</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>"Well Jaune, we're here. My home on the island of Patch." Summer claimed, breathing in the scent of clean air and flowers from the clearing that they landed on.</p><p>It was a beautiful sight. Lush, green grass on the ground. Flower beds in the surrounding fields, and tall trees lining the area. white, fluffy clouds hanging from the otherwise clear blue sky. It was honestly breath taking...</p><p>"Wow...It's beautiful." Jaune said, looking around the clearing.</p><p>"Yes, it is stunning, isn't it?" Summer said, looking at how amazed Jaune looked. It was almost sad that he's never seen anything like this before. <em>'I just wish that i could have found him sooner.'</em> Summer thought somberly.</p><p>"It's...like nothing I've ever seen." Jaune stated. and it was completely true. For all of the landscapes that he's made, they never gave him this sense of calm or tranquility as this. Almost makes him feel envious...almost.</p><p>"Well, it's home. And i wouldn't have it any other way." She said, walking towards a sort of self made pathway leading to who knows where.</p><p>"Come on, we only have a small ways until we reach the village." Summer called back, smiling at his bewildered expression. But a small frown marred her face once she remembered the tale that he had told her. He was just a small boy that was forced to run from a Grim infestation, and drove into a corner. It was probably by some miracle that his aura unlocked. Speak nothing of the chances of his Semblance being so powerful to allow him to survive as long as he has. But today...today, that would change. She already took him out of that Oum awful place. All she needs to do is make sure that he gets on his feet...Actually, she could probably let him move in with her and her family. But if they have any objections *Cough* Qrow *Cough*, then they will have to answer to her scythe, Blossom.</p><p>"Okay...A village? Like what my old home used to be?" Jaune asked, tilting his head to the side. Summer just seemed to be uncomfortable with the mention of his now destroyed home.</p><p>"Um...Don't you feel a little bit uncomfortable with talking about your old home. I mean, if i went through that, I'd think that I'd be traumatized for life.'</p><p>"...?"</p><p>"You know, and not want to talk about it." Summer finished, pausing for effect. Jaune's face changed from confused to understanding. He tilted his head down, gaining a contemplative look.</p><p>"...well. To be honest, i have accepted that i wont be able to see them again. lest i face the same fate as they did." He half lied. knowing that the only reason he might see his father again is to fight him to the death. "They wouldn't want me to try and loath in despair. But instead, they would want me to train, get stronger, and fight to protect these i would hold dear to my heart." That was a complete truth. Dux wouldn't want him to show weakness, but train and try to protect the life he had created. "That is why i need to become stronger. To earn my right to live. To make sure that others don't suffer the same fate as i did. No child should have to live through that. And I'll make sure of it. Of this, i am certain." Jaune finished, a fire burning within his core. He would train. He would train and become so much stronger than his '<em><strong>FATHER</strong></em>', and annihilate him. It's the only way to make sure that this. this beautiful world stays. and any other wrong in this world, hell, even the multiverse will be dealt by him in a calm and peaceful way. Unlike his father who only used his power to destroy any and all who would try and oppose him. he wouldn't let that happen, not while he's around-</p><p>"JAUNE!"</p><p>Jaune was snapped out of his reverie when he heard his name called. But he noticed immediately that she was in a defensive stance. and that he was engulfed in a green flame that wasn't hurting him at all. mostly because it was being made my him. Further more, his body seemed to bulge a small bit. barely noticeable, but there non-the-less. He wasn't entirely sure how, or really know why he knew that. But he just <em>felt </em>that it was coming from him.</p><p>"Oh, I'm sorry." Jaune said, letting the flames die down, along with the apparent growth of his muscles. I mean, it wasn't like a huge wildfire or anything, but it was a decent sized flame right where his heart was. it was dying out, but he could still feel the red hot sensation that it left. And he really felt like he could take on anything right now.</p><p>"What was that?" Summer said, cautiously coming closer to him. he was rubbing the spot above his heart. as if trying to see if it did anything to him. while his shirt-the new one that was given to him when he got on the Bullhead-was slightly damaged, it looks more like it was ripped instead of burned. he didn't know the answer to that himself, but decided to tell her something in respect to her.</p><p>"Well, that was a technique that i learned. I'm not entirely sure how it works yet, but I'm working on it." He said, still looking at the spot.</p><p>"Oh, well...okay then. And you're sure that it's something that you <em>learned</em> and not <em>gained</em>?" Summer questioned, now looking a bit skeptical. but then she realized what she was trying to imply and simply laughed to herself immediately afterwards. "Actually, don't answer that. i don't know what i was thinking. come on, let's head to town. it's just over this hill!" Summer yelled back, running off over said hill. Jaune was stunned for a moment before he cracked open a grin himself, also breaking into a sprint.</p><p>"Hey! Wait for me!"</p><p>
  <strong>(Time skip brought to you by Chibi Summer and Jaune running in an open grass field)</strong>
</p><p>"<strong>*Pant*</strong>So,<strong>*Pant</strong>*what do you<strong>*Pant*</strong>want to do<strong>*Pant*</strong>now? Phew i got to lay off the healthy stuff.<strong>*Pant*</strong>Damn celery and it's wateriness. if it has so much water in it already, then why not just drink water!?" Summer said laying on the ground with the sheen of her own sweat.</p><p>"Well, that place over there looks to be a nice start." a perfectly in tact Jaune suggested, pointing at a building with the word 'Market' on top of it. Summer looked to where he was pointing and made to get up from her lying position, also wiping some of the sweat that built up on her brow.</p><p>"Oh, that's the market place. That's where everyone else gets their food and other supplies." Summer said, giving Jaune a small smile at his shinning curiosity.</p><p>"Can we go there?" Jaune asked, his enthusiasm clearly evident on his face.</p><p>"Of course. I was planning on going there anyway. Let's go." Summer said, already walking towards their destination.</p><p>
  <strong>(Time skip brought to you by Chibi Summer and Jaune happily walking to the market)</strong>
</p><p>"Hmm, i wonder if Summer would mind me asking if she can buy me some of these." Jaune asked to himself as he looked at the box of protein bars and the tub of <em>super </em>concentrated protein powder mix. Both he and Summer had split up in the market to get something or other. The only reason that Summer let him be by himself was because she knew that he could take care of himself. But while he was walking, he saw that a man was yelling at another woman with some cute looking animal ears on her head. so he walked up to them and poked the man in his leg.</p><p>"Sorry mister, but can i ask why you're yelling t this woman? She doesn't seem to be guilty of anything." Jaune said, now getting in between them. And he had been waiting for an answer, however, he instead got a hateful glare and aa harsh shove.</p><p>"mind your own business you little shit! I was trying to tell this<em> ANIMAL</em> that she doesn't belong around here, and then she has the Gall to talk back to me. So i demand an apology." The tall, masculine man roared. Jaune was confused. Why was he so angry? He why was he treat her any different than he would another person? Sure she has an adorable set atop of her head, but that's hardly a reason to call her an animal.</p><p>"Well, I'm sorry, sir. But i find that to be an unjust reason to call someone an animal, much less yell at them. They're no different than you or me. Though, they do have an adorable set of ears." Jaune said, looking up at the taller man calmly, while the woman behind him blushed a small bit.</p><p>"Oh? really now? So you're saying that your no different than that <em>thing</em>?" The man shouted. A crowd had started to gather around them. Jaune was going to retort when the man cut him off again.</p><p>"Alright you little shit, you know What? if you're so similar, then you should be beaten down just as easily! And afterwards, I'll beat her too!" The man roared again, putting up his fists. Jaune was going to do that, but remembered what he said earlier, and how he wanted to protect humanity, not kill them off. So he simply stayed there, not wanting to hurt him. But he also wanted to protect the woman as well.</p><p>"I wont fight you. But i wont allow you to hurt her either." Jaune said sternly. Standing tall and not showing any signs of moving. The Man growls and called out to two other men, who swiftly grabbed Jaune by the arms, forcing him to stay in place. But Jaune wasn't going to move an inch.</p><p>"Alright <em>Hero"</em> The man mocked, walking up to him. "You think that you can protect her? you don't look strong enough to even protect yourself! so what do you think you're going to do!? HUH!? WHAT!?" The man yelled. But Jaune just stayed silent, remembering about his situation with his father. And he knew that they were right. He wasn't strong enough. But...</p><p>"Little shits like you make me sick. Thinking that you can be anything more than a scrawny," The man started, clenching his fist.</p><p>"No good," the grips on his arms are tightened.</p><p>"Down dirty," Reeling back his fist.</p><p>"Useless weakling!" The man roared, throwing a mean looking right hook. and Jaune was prepared to take the blow full force. He even closed his eyes. But after a small moment and a swishing noise, he reopened his eyes to see that not only did the two men that were holding him down were knocked out, but that the man had a hand to his throat, trying to pry the other hand that was currently lifting him off the floor.</p><p>"Dave." The calm but furious voice of Summer Rose. She was even more serious than he saw her when she was fighting that Avocado-muncher Tyrian.</p><p>"I want you to know that this child right here. is with me. And if you were trying to do what i think you were trying to do to him, then you better be thanking whatever god that will still accept you that i wont castrate you right here and now. Get out of my sight." Summer threatened, throwing him forward. Dave just looked at her angrily before growling and running out of the market. In an instant, she changed completely. going from deadly monster to overly protective.</p><p>"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do your arms hurt? Do you want me to kiss it okay?" Summer asked. The questions came out at a million miles per hour. And it made Jaune laugh a bit.</p><p>"Summer, I'm fine! i wouldn't be hurt by them even if you didn't come to the rescue." Jaune reassured. But Summer still seemed to be worried.</p><p>"But why didn't you fight back?" She asked, looking in his eyes for an answer.</p><p>"Well, while i could have used my semblance, I don't have complete control over it. And i don't know how much power i could use without the same thing happening to Tyrian happening to others." Jaune explained. Summer gained a somewhat sad smile.</p><p>"Oh, Jaune. you really don't want to hurt anyone, do you?" Summer asked, gaining a head shake from him. and she hugged him for it.</p><p>"It's okay. let's get our stuff and go now, okay?" Summer said, taking his hand and picking up everything that they dropped. but Jaune also wanted to pick up his own things.</p><p>"Summer, can we also get those?" Jaune asked.</p><p>"Of course." Summer said, not wanting to question what he would do with those right now.</p><p>
  <strong>(Time skip brought to you by Chibi Summer and Jaune quietly walking down the street)</strong>
</p><p>"Summer." Jaune said, gaining the attention of the woman next to him..</p><p>"Yes, Jaune?" Summer asked, but as soon as she looked at him, she saw that he seemed to be conflicted. no doubt about what <em><strong>DAVE</strong></em> said to him. that lousy sack of shi-</p><p>"Do you think he was right?" Jaune asked, catching her off guard.</p><p>"W-what?"</p><p>"I mean, he said that i was weak. and compared to everyone else...i am. one of the only reasons i was able to beat that Tyrian guy was was probably underestimating me. i don't think that i was meant to be a hunter." Jaune said solemnly. But Summer just looked at him as if he grew a second head.</p><p>"Jaune! Don't you dare talk about yourself like that." Summer stated, startling the small boy. "You are a strong young man who defeated that bastard on the forest when i couldn't. you survived the Grimlands by yourself at such a young age. something even fully trained hunters aren't able to do. Heck you even refused to fight that racist bastard even though he was going to harm you. That alone provides to me that you're stronger than most others." Summer stopped to kneel down to his level and touched her forehead with his. "But none of that matters to me right now. right now, you are going to come and live with me and my family. And you should know that no matter how weak you feel, or how weak others see you as. I will always see you as the strong young man that has the most heart I've seen in a while." Summer said, smiling at him. She stood up and waved for him to follow. "Come on, the house is just a little ways away."</p><p>"..."</p><p>Jaune was shocked for a moment. For someone to be so unconditionally kind to you...it was a new experience for him. His father had always expected <em>something</em> of him. but this...this felt nice. And it was here that Jaune realized that no matter what happened. No matter what will happen. he has what he's been looking for. even though it took him this long to realize it.</p><p>He had a family.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Another Family Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They had begun talking again. they had exchanged information with each other, such as their past experiences, and even what their favorite colors were! Though, Jaune didn't exchange much else with her. For...obvious reasons. But not long after, they had arrived within visual range of the rather moderate house. It was mostly made of wood from what he could tell. it didn't have much to offer color wise. But it did give off a very inviting aura.</p><p>"Yeah, she had pink hair for a whole month! It was hilarious!" Summer said, laughing along with Jaune, talking about how she had put hair dye in her teammate's shampoo. But was soon adorning a sort of thousand yard stare. "But at what cost..." Summer said, remembering the horrific scene of all those cookies being sliced, burned, frozen, and blown up by that...that...MAD WOMAN!</p><p>"Are you okay there Summer?" Jaune asked, a worrying look on his face. She went distant for a while. But apparently he knocked her out of her funk and looked up in mild shock.</p><p>"What? Oh, right. Sorry about that Jaune. Bad memories. But anyways, enough about me, what about you? I'm sure you have some interesting tales to tell me." Summer said, giving him a warm smile. Jaune however, was having a small panic attack.</p><p>
  <em>'Oh ssssshhhhhhh-'</em>
</p><p>"Shortstack?" A new voice called out, making the two look towards a tall, gruff man with a red and tattered cape.</p><p>"Oh, hey Qrow. i was just talking to my new friend here, what's up?" Summer asked the now named Qrow. He, on his part, looked skeptically at Jaune, practically trying to look into his soul. it was kind of creepy actually.</p><p>"Um...hi." Jaune greeted, letting out a mental sigh of relief. He really dodged a bullet there. It would <em>not</em> have ended in his favor if he tried to lie his ear off. Because that was bad...or, according to Summer that is.</p><p>"Huh..." Qrow started after eyeing him up and down, then he turned to Summer. "Who's the brat?" He asked.</p><p>...Well that was rude.</p><p>"Well <em>Qrow,</em> when i was on my last mission, i found this little guy in the middle of the Grimlands. Could you believe that? He survived out there despite how dangerous it was." Summer said, kneeling down to Jaune's side and grabbing him in a sideways hug, still looking at Qrow. He seemed to narrow his eyes a bit at Jaune before sighing and looking to the side, mumbling something like 'kids these days' or something. He couldn't quite catch it.</p><p>"Grimlands huh? Well, I'll admit that that's a pretty admirable feat there little brat. How long were you in there for? A month?" Qrow asked, an eyebrow raised. Jaune just starred awkwardly to the side. But Summer's smile only seemed to grow.</p><p>"That's the thing. he's been in there his <em>whole life!</em> Isn't that crazy!?" Summer said, pride simply rolling off of her. "Oh, and I've decided that he will be staying with us until either i say so or until he leaves for a Huntsman Academy. He want's to be a Huntsman just like us! Isn't that exciting!?" Summer said enthusiastically. Qrow however, immediately looked back at Jaune, eyes once again narrowed. Okay, Jaune was starting to have enough of this.</p><p>"Could you...you know. <em>not</em> stare at me like that. I really don't feel comfortable with the way you're looking at me right now."</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>
  <strong>*STARING INTENSIFIES*</strong>
</p><p>"Gah!" Jaune shouted, being surprised by the sudden intensity of the man's stare. Summer merely looked at Qrow and had a face that practically screamed 'Srsly?'. Qrow kept his gaze for a few more seconds before letting it go and chuckling a bit.</p><p>"What? I'm just testing the kid. I'm sure he's faced much worse before. ain't that right you brat?" Okay, that's the other thing. being called 'brat' was kind of grinding his nerves. And the guy seemed to know it too! however, he reigned his emotions in and simply smiled at him.</p><p>"Yep! Though, the...Beringal was it? Well, the guerrilla things were kind of tough to beat down, seeing as how their sturdy, fast, agile, and crazy strong too. But i did what i had to do." Jaune said, thinking of what kinds of strong Grim there were. And WOW were there a lot. Like how there were supposedly five 'legendary' Grim that were exceptionally powerful. one was named, 'The Tyrant of Adaptation', another called 'The Hydra of Infinity', 'The Dracule of immortality', 'The Leviathan', and 'The Army of Pantheons'. Ooh, and there was even one that was that was rumored to have controlled these legendary warriors of Grim. With nothing but the nickname...'Ragnarok'.</p><p>"Beringal huh? Yeah, I've had my run ins with some of those. Not too much trouble, but trick to it is to just take out the legs. That way, it wont be able to move. Am i right?" Qrow said, getting the information wrong on purpose as to try and see if the kid really did fight a Beringal.</p><p>"The...legs? but it can just carry itself with it's arms no problem. And while it may be difficult, you should always try to either disable it by damaging it's arms, or try to go for it's head strait out." Jaune said, quick with finding the info he needed. Man...as much as he hates the...thing. His father gave him a pretty useful tool.</p><p>"Humph. i guess you really did fight a Beringal. Whatever. Come on Shortstack. We got a daughter and a niece to get back to." Qrow said, turning around and heading towards the house that was not too far away now.</p><p>"Alright Qrow. Come on Jaune, let's go introduce you to the rest of the family." Summer said. And Jaune looked at her for a second before smiling and walking with her.</p><p>"I would love that."</p><p>
  <strong>(Time Break Presented To You By a Chibi Jaune And Summer Walking Down A Dirt Path With Qrow A Little Ways Ahead Of Them)</strong>
</p><p>"Well. We're here. I'll go tell the rest of the gang that you're back. Meanwhile, you should tell your...'friend', the rules of the house before you bring him in." Qrow said, looking back toward the two before walking inside the house, leaving Jaune and Summer by themselves.</p><p>"Right. The rules." Summer said to herself, before looking down at Jaune. "Well. I guess i have to. Okay. Jaune. Rule number one of the house: No Cursing. if i catch you doing it, that's a time out for at least five minutes and at maximum half an hour. Rule number two: No going into the adults rooms. There's a reason why we have separate rooms from our children. So unless we extensively call you into our room, or it's a life or death emergency, you don't go in there, okay?" Summer asked, getting a nod of conformation from him. "Now, rule number three: No fighting inside the house. otherwise you have to clean up the mess and you're grounded for a week. Rule number four: Don't touch the special hair conditioner. You'll learn why when we get inside. Rule number five: DON'T TOUCH THE COOKIES...or, at least without asking me first. Rule number six: When one of the adults asks you to do something, you do it...unless it's Qrow. you should only listen to him when either me or Ta-...another <em>responsible </em>adult is around. Oum only knows what kind of trouble he'll get you into. And that's about it. But there'll probably be some other things along the way that we'll talk about when we get to it." Summer finished, sighing and looking back to the house to see that Qrow and another man come out the front door.</p><p>The man was tall, slightly tanned, and blonde, like Jaune, but of a lighter shade. his outfit consisted of a light golden brown short sleeved button up shirt, a chocolate brown vest going over it. He also wore some light brown cargo shorts accompanied by some sandals...and a blue hat turned backwards?<em> Okay</em>, a bit weird. But, he's still an adult, so he'll show him the respect he deserves. Another thing Summer told him on their walk here.</p><p>"Hello, my name is Jaune. Jaune Noir. It's nice to meet you." Jaune said, bowing a small bit. Qrow just snickered while the other man just tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"Uh, nice to meet you too i guess. Summer, the heck is this?" The man asked her, still looking at Jaune with confusion. Summer simply smiled before wrapping one of her arms around Jaune's shoulders.</p><p>"<em>This</em> is Jaune Noir, as he's already told you. And I found him during the mission i just came back from. Apparently, he's been living out in the Grimlands for his entire life. Isn't that something?" Summer asked, looking at the man who just raised both his eyebrows before chuckling to himself and shaking his head.</p><p>"Of course he did. And may i ask why he's here?" The man asked. He seemed like a pretty chill guy. Didn't even ask any more questions or even give Jaune the same gaze that Qrow gave him.</p><p>"Well, i thought that he could stay with us for a while. you see, he...has no other place to stay." Summer said attentively, hugging Jaune fully now.</p><p>The man looked on for a few moments before giving an easygoing smile and a thumbs up. "Sure. And I'm more than certain that you told him the rules already?" The man asked, getting a nod from her. And he turned to walk away.</p><p>"Ahem." Summer cleared her throat to get his attention. He simply looked back and noticed Summer gesturing him to Jaune with her head. He looked confused for a brief second before realizing what she was trying to say.</p><p>"Oh, where are my manners?" Tai realized going to try and introduce himself before Qrow spoke up.</p><p>"Probably with your 'coolness' back in Beacon, next to that 'sexiness' you kept boasting about." Qrow interrupted, snickering at him. The man didn't even look at him, simply going silent for a moment before responding.</p><p>"Shut the fuck up Qrow." The man said, his easy-going smile never leaving his face.</p><p>"Ah ah ah! That's another Lien in the swear-jar." Summer scolded, pointing an accusing finger at him. he simply gestured his hands in a 'calm down' motion.</p><p>"Yeah yeah, i know. But as i was trying to say. The names Taiyang. You can just call me Tai if you want though. Doesn't really matter to me." Tai said, giving a tiny wave. "Anyway, I'm heading inside to take a nap. I'm kind of tired from all the work yesterday. don't hesitate to wake me if something comes up." Tai yawned out, walking inside the house with a slouch.</p><p>"Alright. I'll wake you for dinner if you're not up by then." Summer called as Tai disappeared into the house. But as soon as she called out, two voices made themselves present.</p><p>"Mom/Aunt Summer!"</p><p>Two children ran out of the house and into Summers awaiting arms.</p><p>"Hey there my little Huntresses! Did you miss me?" Summer asked. the two looked up at her and smiled brightly.</p><p>"Yeah!"</p><p>"I missed you too! and guess what?" Summer asked, earning a pair of curious looks from the girls. "I found a new friend on my mission. and he's going to be staying with us for a while, okay?" Summer questioned, causing the two girls to finally notice Jaune awkwardly standing there. The blonde one looked at him with curiosity while the one with the red tipped hair shyly hid behind Summer.</p><p>"Don't worry girls, he's friendly. Go ahead and talk to him." Summer said, gently leading the girl behind her to join the other one. The blonde was the first to speak up.</p><p>"Hi there. I'm Yang. And this here is my cousin Ruby." The blonde, now known as Yang said, while she held Ruby in a sideways hug. Ruby just looked up at him shyly.</p><p>"H-hi." Ruby managed to squeak out, shuffling in place. The pair of dog ears on top of her head twitching slightly as she was both nervous to meet someone new and excited at the possibility of making a new friend. her tail almost made that definite if it's slight wagging was anything to go by</p><p>'<em>So cuuuuuute.' </em>Jaune thought, but quickly snapped himself out of his thoughts and introduced himself.</p><p>"Hello. My name is Jaune. And i hope we can become good friends." Jaune said, smiling at the two. Yang just grinned at him while Ruby just looked at him in surprise before smiling brightly at him, Her ears perking up and her tail wagging freely now.</p><p>"Yeah!" Ruby spoke, giving him an adorable smile, jumping like an excited puppy. Jaune had to actually keep himself from overloading at how much cuteness he was witnessing. Summer walked up behind them and had a bright smile on her face. seeing her children get along so well made her really happy. Qrow...was Qrow. she's used to it now that she's been married to him for over six years, but she expected that he could have at least talked to him about a normal topic. But to each their own she supposed. Seeing that her kids were all playing around, she decided that she could rest for a small bit. She would have to go back to Beacon and give a fully detailed report, but that could wait until tomorrow.</p><p>"Well. Welcome to your new family, Jaune."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Quality Family Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It's been an hour since the trio met each other and the girls decided that they wanted to play with Jaune, so Ruby and Yang took him to their own personal playground that Tai built for them. Jaune was looking at the two cousins with an interested look on his face.</p><p>'<em>So this is how "kids my age" act. Hmm, how...interesting. They seem nice enough. Yang seems to be pretty carefree like Tai, and Ruby looks a lot like Summer. Though her Faunus traits are a hazard to my heart. I can only take so much cute at a time dang It!'</em> Jaune thought, smiling a small bit. He could admit, he felt comfortable around them. Though, it felt a bit different than when he spent time with Summer. With Summer, he felt safe. And now...well, he couldn't pinpoint what was different, but he could feel a sort of connection to them. <em>'Hmm, it might be because i have friends now. That can explain it. But...this connection feels...deeper.'</em> Jaune thought, but was broken out of his thought process when he heard one of the girls call to him.</p><p>"Hey, Jaune! you there? You kind of spaced out." Yang said, waving her hand in front of his eyes. He shook his head before nodding. He didn't say much, mostly because he had problems talking with them. So he opted to give them nods, smiles, shakes of the head, and grunts. The girls found this a bit odd, but thought nothing of it. Yang then giggled before taking his hand and tried to catch up to Ruby who was eagerly climbing atop 'The Steel Dome' they called it. it was just some climbing bars that curved into a roundish shape.</p><p>"I'm the Queen of the Dome!" Ruby exclaimed, raiding her arms in victory. And as Jaune took notice of very quickly, her tail seemed to be wagging damn near constantly. And her demeanor in general was upbeat and happy all the time. It was almost stereotypical how she acted like an actual puppy.</p><p>"Hey! No fair! You had a head start! Come on Jaune, we gotta go take the throne back!" Yang said, running up to the climbing contraption and started scaling it. Jaune meanwhile was still looking on with mild amusement.</p><p><em>'it would seem that people are more layed back than what i thought. it...it's nice to know. But,'</em> Jaune thought, face turning a tad bit more somber. <em>'if that Tyrian guy was anything to go by, then there are people that want to take all of this away.'</em> Jaune's face then changed to a more concerned look. <em>'But if he was hired to kill Summer, then that would mean someone must have contracted him. Who would want her dead? And why?'</em> Jaune pondered, but before he could delve any deeper, he felt something hit him upside the head. When he inspected what hit him, he saw that there was a small squeaky toy. He tilted his head to the side in confusion. <em>'A...squeaky toy? why would-'</em> Jaune was once again broken out of his train of thought when Ruby called out to him/</p><p>"Jaune! you are now dubbed 'The Beast Tamer'. Now tame the beast of legends!" Ruby yelled out, somehow manifesting a tinfoil crown and placing it on her head. Though the ears kind of got in the way, so it would teeter to one side, causing her to try and fix it every few seconds. He found the sight adorable, but was still a bit confused at what she said.</p><p><em>'Beast Tamer? What kind of animal could these people have?'</em> Jaune said confused. He couldn't really think of any legendary beasts that could possibly be anywhere near here. <em>'well, i guess there's the Htoer'kater from Kater, but i highly doubt they could withstand it's highly toxic gas that it secretes. Or it's VERY violent tendencies. But then again it could be-'</em></p><p>*Arf!*</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>A dog.</p><p>*Arf!*</p><p>A very <em>adorable</em> dog.</p><p>*Arf!*</p><p>"Hey there little guy, are you the 'Legendary Beast' they were talking about? Aw, look at you. you're not a beast, you're just an adorable little puppy aren't you? you're almost as adorable as Ru-" Jaune started to say, but stopped once he realized what he was saying. But he didn't stop rubbing the little Corgi's underside.</p><p>"<em>Jaune!</em> Don't talk to him like that! He's supposed to be the unstoppable beast!" Ruby cried, pouting over the fact that 'The Beat Tamer' and 'The Beast' were currently playing around like...well, like a kid and his dog. her ears flopping down onto her head as the crown fell off fully. Yang however, was more focused on what Jaune tried to say before stopping himself. She wasn't so suspicious as she was curious. Why was he talking to the dog so normally but not them? why did he stop himself mid sentence? What was he saying last?</p><p>Before she could ponder any more on the subject, she heard the back door open.</p><p>"Hey kids, guess who came home?" Summer said, looking at the three children look at each other before a yellow blur flew past her. She giggled to herself before gesturing the other two to come inside.</p><p>Jaune gave her a confused look in which she just gestured him to come inside again. Jaune just shrugged and complied along with Ruby. As he was inside however, he noticed that there was another presence that he didn't recognize. So he was curious.</p><p><em>'I wonder who that could be. Someone else in their family perhaps? possibly. But the only other person i can think of that Summer mentioned was-'</em> Jaune was once again broken from his thoughts when he heard some commotion from further inside the house.</p><p>"Mom!" Yang exclaimed as she hugged another woman Jaune hasn't seen before. She had long flowing ebony hair that seemed pristine and untouched...but, he could have sworn he saw a small trace of pink in there. She had shining crimson eyes that could cut through your soul. Skin almost as smooth and beautiful as the moonlight. A black dress that went down to her mid thighs, only covered by armor just as red as her eyes. On her hip has a sheath to a sword that almost radiated menace. She looked down at Yang for a moment before giving a small smile and hugged her back.</p><p>"Hello Yang. Mommies home." The woman said as she stroked the small girls hair gently. Yang just giggled and hugged her a bit more tightly. They stayed like that for a bit longer before Tai came into the room and looked at the scene for a little while.</p><p>"Welcome home Raven. How are you doing? You get back from your mission already?" Tai asked after waiting for Yang to let go of Raven. They both came together and gave each other a small chaste kiss. Raven then let out a small hum, nodding in confirmation.</p><p>"Yes Tai. I'm fine. The mission went by easier than i thought it would. I came across a small snag along the way, but it was dealt with in the end. Nothing to worry about." Raven said, putting her weapon next to the door and picking up her daughter. Tai just smiled warmly and let out a sigh.</p><p>"That's good to hear. We can talk about specifics later, but right now, I..." He started, but paused mid-sentence and contemplated something before smiling again. "<em>Summer</em> has something to tell you. i'll be in the room if you need me for anything. i just got up to greet you. I really need to catch some Z's after all that work from today. Those damn kids just don't know the meaning of respect." Tai grimaced as he walked into another room. Raven just smiled warmly before nodding slightly.</p><p>"Okay then, rest. Now what was it that you wanted to tell me Summer?" Raven asked as she set Yang back on the ground to let her join Ruby on the couch. Summer looked at her confused before getting a look of realization. She then started to walk over to Jaune. And it was then that Raven finally noticed the little boy. She slightly tensed and raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"Well Raven, you know how i was on a mission that sent me out to the Grimlands?" Summer asked, getting a nod in return from Raven after a brief moment. "As it turns out, this little guy right here has been out there his entire life. And i found him!" Summer said, smiling, before she saddened slightly. "He was alone out there. Turns out his both his parents and their settlement were killed by the Grim. But he survived. Do you know how? Because he's got one of the most powerful Semblances I've ever seen! And he's got a whole lot of Aura. In fact, he saved my life while we were out there." Summer said, and all sound ceased to be. Raven immediately went serious. Qrow stopped what he was doing in the kitchen and Tai practically teleported into the room.</p><p>"Care to elaborate Shortstack? I think you forgot to include that in your little rundown of your mission." Qrow said, being dead serious. Summer was not by any means a bad Huntress. In fact, she was one of the best of their generation. So for something, or even <em>someone</em> to be able to challenge her like that was concerning to say the least. Worse yet, she said this child was the one to save her. Summer was also a firm believer in the truth. so she only ever lied when she had to. So they knew she was telling the truth. Summer blinked before panicking a small bit.</p><p>"Wait wait wait wait wait! Before any more questions are asked, he is perfectly peaceful. There is no need to worry. We can do all that another time, but right now, i just wanted to introduce you to him. his name is Jaune Noir. Jaune, this is Raven. She's Yang's mother." Summer said, gently nudging Jaune towards Raven who was still eyeing him with a similar look to...</p><p>"Hello Raven. Your staring looks an awful lot like when Qrow was looking at me earlier. You also have very similar eyes. Are you two brother and sister by chance?" Jaune asked. He was completely unperturbed by the atmosphere. Raven eyed him for a bit longer before looking to Summer who was giving her a look that she could read was saying 'Just do this one thing for me please?' Raven gave her a deadpan look before sighing and looking at Jaune who was still giving her awaiting eyes.</p><p>"Actually, yes, we are siblings. And i must say, you are quite literate for a boy of your age." Raven said, confirming his suspicions and then shifted her eyes to Tai and Qrow, quietly gesturing that she has the situation under control. She turned her sights back to Jaune and saw him eyeing her with a sort of childish wonder and curiosity.</p><p>"Oh. That's because before my parents were...before they went away, they thought that even though we lived out in the Grimlands, we didn't have to be dumb. In fact they though that it was especially the fact that we lived on the Grimlands that we should try to learn as much as we can to be smarter. So they taught me a lot of things in between training and their guard shifts." Jaune said. Raven nodded and looked him over again. She could sense that he did indeed have <em>a lot</em> of Aura. She was also curious to know what he had as a Semblance that allowed him to not only survive out in the Grimlands for that long, but also stop whatever it was that almost killed Summer. She was playing it safe for now though. Never know what to expect from people out there. mostly because there weren't <em>supposed </em>to be people out there. But in any case, she was going to wait before really acting on anything. Plus, if Summer was willing to trust him, then she might as well give her the benefit of the doubt that she trusted him too.</p><p>"Very well. Are you planning to have him stay here, Summer?" Raven asked. Summer nodded, and Raven nodded back. "Okay then, i hope you know the rules. I will be going to my room to change and take a shower. Call me when you need help with supper, okay?" Raven asked as she passed her sister-in-law. Summer gave her a bright smile and nodded.</p><p>"Yeah, okay. Now, Jaune, how about you go into the guest room and get washed up? It's down the hall two doors to the right. I need to have a talk with Tai and Qrow." Summer said, pointing him in the direction of the hall. He complied and was soon out of earshot. "Now i know you two are wondering what exactly happened during the mission, so listen carefully."</p><p>From there, she explained how she found him after slaying a horde of Grim that exhausted her. And how a Scorpion Faunus tried to assassinate her before Jaune came in and knocked him away. She also explained how Jaune dodged every strike that the assassin threw at him before delivering two blows that not only tore off the mans left arm and tail, but also most of the Forest behind him.</p><p>that was a shocker to them. but so was the fact that he said that it was his semblance to amplify all of his physical abilities and mental processing. What worried them however was that the man had disappeared after threatening that he would be back to kill them.</p><p>"And you said he wants to be a Hunter?" Qrow asked, Raising a brow. Summer just nodded. He looked away as if thinking about something before slowly nodding himself. "Alright. that's...good. Does he want to go to school? He could go to the one over near the town." Qrow suggested, but Summer shook her head.</p><p>"No, He doesn't want to go to a school any time soon. He said that he doesn't know how to control his power yet. Doesn't want to accidentally cause a serious injury." Summer said, getting an understanding grunt from the two men.</p><p>"Makes sense. Out there, you don't hold back. If you do...well, you won't have another chance to make that same mistake. So what should we do?" Tai asked, briefly imagining Jaune accidentally harming on of the students in a sparring match. Grimacing, he shook his head.</p><p>"Well, I was thinking, since you teach over at the school, you could teach him here. train him a bit. have him learn how to control himself. I know it's asking a bit much, but just do this one for me, please?" Summer asked the blonde man. He thought about it a bit. going over the implications of that.</p><p><em>'Well. if I do this, I could keep an eye on him. And I can keep him from causing too much damage. But on the other hand, this could be dangerous if I'm not careful...Eh, why the hell not. I've been itching for a challenge anyway.'</em> Tai thought, before letting out a breath.</p><p>"Alright, I'll do it." Tai finally said. Summer smiled at him</p><p>"Thank you." Summer shifted her gaze to her husband who was currently walking away from the two. "Qrow." He froze on the spot and threw his head back.</p><p>"Ugh! WHY DO I HAVE TO!?" He whined.</p><p>"Qrow."</p><p>"Ugh!</p><p>"<em>Qrow."</em></p><p>"UGH!"</p><p>
  <em>"QROW."</em>
</p><p>"AHHHHHHHHHHH, fine i'll help!"</p><p>"Thank you, i'll give you my 'thanks' later." Summer said, winking at him and giving a small giggle. Qrow stayed still for a moment before responding.</p><p>"...Maybe this won't be so bad." Qrow said, smirking with a bit of a blush on his face. Tai looked between the two, eyes squinted as if almost disgusted by what he was looking at.</p><p>"...Guys. Maybe not right in front of me? I really don't want to hear about how you 'thank' each other right now." Tai said, cringing at how the two were flirting with each other.</p><p>"Hey, don't pretend you don't do the same thing with my sister." Qrow said, walking down the hall. Tai just scrunched up his eyebrows before calling back.</p><p>"At least i don't talk about it when you two are right in front of me." Tai said.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Time Skip Brought To You By A </strong>
  <strong>Chibi</strong>
  <strong> Summer And Qrow Hugging One Another)</strong>
</p><p>After another hour of relaxation, Summer called out to Raven to have her help with supper. Jaune was currently watching in fascination. Summer looked away from what she was doing and saw him staring. She smiled and whispered something to Raven and turned to him.</p><p>"What's up Jaune? Do you need something?" Summer asked, walking over to him while wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing. Jaune relaxed more in his seat as he looked from his hands and back to Summer before requesting something.</p><p>"Well...i was wondering if i could help?" Jaune asked after a brief moment. Summer looked at him confused.</p><p>"Help with what?" Summer questioned, tilting her head.</p><p>"With the...the cooking." Jaune clarified. Summer looked at him a bit longer before smiling at him.</p><p>"Sure. i could teach you a thing or two if you'd like. come." Summer said, taking his hand and bringing him into the kitchen. Raven looked over to them briefly before seeing the look of assurance Summer was giving her and went back to dicing the vegetables.</p><p>"Now, what do you want to help me do? Were going to have steak with mash potatoes and vegetables." Summer said. Jaune just thought about it a bit before snapping his fingers at the end of his thought process.</p><p>"I got it." was all Jaune said before he started moving. Summer looked confused. What did he get?</p><p>"Um, Jaune, what are you doing?" Summer asked, but he didn't respond. He was already at work, first washing his hands with soap, then he started taking different ingredients from the drawers and combining different herbs. He was moving like he had practiced this a thousand times. He started with the steak, seasoning it with different spices. then he put some sort of cooking liquid in the cooking pan before he put a layer of seasoning on the bottom of the pan, placing the steak on top and then moving over to where Raven was, slightly tugging at her clothing to get her attention and gestured if he could take over. She looked at him intrigued before moving aside. When he got the knife in his hands and used a stepping ladder to reach the counter, he was dicing the vegetables at a record pace. After he was done with that, he dipped it all in some oil, placed them all in the pan, placed the steak on top, and moved on to the potatoes. Taking a different knife, he cut it up carefully. Afterwards, he took some cheese sauce that the found and coated them all in the dairy product, spreading the entirety of it alongside the steak before finally placing the pan into the oven.</p><p>Jaune wiped the small amount of sweat that accumulated in his brow. He then turned to a surprised Summer and an intrigued Raven. He looked at the two for a moment.</p><p>"What?" Jaune asked, not knowing what they were looking at him like that for. He then proceeded to rewash his hands. He was whistling a small tune while doing it.</p><p>"Jaune, where did you learn all of that?" Summer questioned. Jaune just looked back at her with his own confused expression.</p><p>"Learn what?" He asked, drying his hands with a cloth.</p><p>"Those-those things you did with the food! where did you learn to do that?" Summer asked. she was baffled. He wasn't even ten yet! How was he that Talented. She watched as he set the egg timer. After that, he tuned to her. And looked her in the eye.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>He shrugged.</p><p>"I dunno."</p><p>Raven just suppressed a giggle watching a completely done Summer just standing there while Jaune walked up to her and kept poking Summer, asking if she was okay.</p><hr/><p>After Summer recovered her brain crash, she noticed that she was in her bed, and that someone was knocking on her door.</p><p>"Yes?" she asked as she got up. She also noticed that there was a glass of water on the night stand which she gladly drank. She also noticed that her cloak was hanging on the hook by the door.</p><p>"Hey Shortstack. Dinners ready. Little brat knew what he was doing. don't really know how he did it, or even if i care. But i don't want you going to bed hungry." Qrow said as he entered the room. Summer just looked at him with a look that said 'What's the other reason?' Qrow just chuckled a bit. "Come on, i can't just check on my wife? The woman i love?" Qrow inquired. She just gave him a deadpan expression. "Okay, Raven wont let anyone eat until you come sit at the table." He admitted.</p><p>"Mmhm." Summer hummed. They both laughed a bit before they stayed silent.</p><p>"I worry about you, you know?" Qrow said, immediately getting her attention. "While I'm out on a mission for Oz, when I'm at the school, or even when you're out on a mission. I worry. And what you told me happened on your most recent mission isn't helping." Qrow said, closing his eyes. "I don't like to think about it, but if the kid wasn't there to get you out of that situation, you could have...could have..." Qrow hesitated, tears threatening to leak out. Summer put her hand on his and leaned her forehead on his, smiling.</p><p>"Hey. I'm okay now, alright? I'm home. You can worry. That's natural when you're a Hunter. But as long as you know I'm here and breathing, you shouldn't worry as much. And guess what? i worry about you too. Whenever you go out, i worry. But i have one thing that keeps me thinking-...knowing, that you're okay. I not only have trust in your abilities as a Hunter. But i also have faith in you as a husband and a father. i know you wouldn't go away knowing you had a daughter and me to come home to. Just like i can't die knowing i have the same daughter to come home to." Summer said, looking into his red eyes. she smirked a bit after that. "And i guess i have a husband too. Not too sure about that one though." Summer teased, getting a laugh from the both of them.</p><p>"I love you."</p><p>"I love you too."</p><p>They stayed like that for a small bit, enjoying the serene atmosphere.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>
  <strong>*Rumble*</strong>
</p><p>"Do you want to go get dinner now?" Qrow asked, Summer smiled.</p><p>
  <strong>*Rumble*</strong>
</p><p>"Yeah."</p><hr/><p>"Hey there you two. You okay? you were in your room for a good second." Tai asked, worry clearly in his voice. Summer and Qrow just looked at each other, and smiled lovingly at each other while simultaneously squeezing each others hands.</p><p>"Yeah, we're good." Qrow said, still looking into Summers Silver orbs. He then turned to the rest of the room and smiled brightly. It caught Raven and Tai off guard seeing this, but smiled themselves. It wasn't often when he smiled like that, but it was always for a reason. Summer was almost always that reason.</p><p>"Now let's eat! Hey brat, what exactly are you feeding us?" Qrow asked jokingly. Jaune just gave him a side glance before smiling brightly.</p><p>"Well, it's just steak with a side of cheesy scalloped potatoes and baked vegetables. Simple." Jaune said happily. The adults at the table agreed that it sounded simple, but the way it was presented...it looked mouthwatering. and the aroma wasn't helping. But the two children present were slightly confused.</p><p>"'Scalped' potatoes? Like your head scalp? Ew." Yang said, disgusted by the thought of eating the scalp of a potato. She didn't even know potatoes <em>had</em> scalps!</p><p>"No Yang. Not potato scalps. scalloped potatoes. It's a way of cooking a potato. it's good you should try it." Raven assured her daughter. Yang just looked at her mother and back at the food. looking slightly afraid. Raven just softened her features and talked in a more motherly tone. "Hey, it's okay, trust me." Raven said. Yang looked back at her for a second before nodding in acceptance.</p><p>"Alright mommy. I'll try." Yang said, before taking a fork full of the potatoes and hesitantly putting it in her mouth. All was silent as they saw her freeze in place. They were waiting for her reaction. Mostly because they wanted to know if Jaune's cooking was as good as it looked.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>Yang Immediately started devouring the potatoes on her plate. And when she was finished with that, she moved onto the vegetables, plowing through that as well, she was in the middle of tearing into the steak when everyone snapped out of their shock.</p><p>"Yang!" Raven exclaimed. Yang stopped in her tracks, the steak being stretched between her teeth and her hand, completely forgoing the fork. She moved her eyes from one direction or the other before looking at her mother.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"What do you mean 'What?' i did not teach you to be a savage. slow down and use a fork and knife. But wash your hands and face first, your filthy." Raven scolded. Yang looked guilty, before looking at the steak with growing sadness.</p><p>"B-b-but...IT'S SO GOOOOOOD!" Yang cried as she once again torn into the steak in front of her. Raven, along with everyone else was shocked at this. It couldn't be that good...right? Either way, Raven quickly snapped out of her shock before speaking to Yang in a more authoritative voice that only a mother could pull off.</p><p>"I don't care if it's good. You young lady will go to the bathroom and wash up. Now." Raven claimed. Yang tried to give her best puppy eyes, but Raven was not having any of it. She already lost to that stare too many times when she and Summer were on the same team. "Now." Raven said absolutely. Yang pouted before complying and getting up to leave. but before she left, she quickly turned around, took the remainder of the steak, stuffed it in her mouth, and ran away. Raven just smirked in an irritated mood. "That girl." Raven said before eating her own food. "It can't be that good." She took her fork, stabbed some vegetables and put them in her mouth before she started chewing.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>Surprisingly, she started speeding up her cycle of stabbing a piece of food and shoving it in her mouth. It even got to the point where she was tempted to just forgo the silverware and tare into it with her bare fingers.</p><p>Everyone else was shocked. Raven never did this when she was eating. She always ate at a moderate pace. No matter who made it.</p><p>So this caused the rest of the adults to look between themselves before they started to bring their own fork-full of food to their mouths. And i think you can guess what happened next. if you guessed the same as Raven, then you were right. the room quickly devolved into a room of starving animals devouring whatever was in front of them.</p><p>Jaune looked between them and he honestly didn't know what to think. He then looked to Ruby. She was happily, and calmly he must add, eating her meal. He smiled at the girl, in which she smiled back at him when she noticed his attention was on her, the ever present wag of her tail speeding up a tiny bit as she did so. He then directed his attention to his own plate before taking his fork and stabbing one of the dices carrots and taking a sniff of it to see if it really smelled that good. He thought to himself for a small bit before shrugging and just putting it in his mouth to try and see what all the hubbub was about.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>"Meh."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Home Invasion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a few months since the arrival of the newcomer, and everyone was getting accustomed to him. Jaune himself was fairing better now. He was good friends with Ruby and Yang. They played together, ate together, and they would occasionally even train with each other...well, they would train with each other. Jaune would either referee the spar, or be there to gauge the power they each had. He never actually tried to fight them. Like, at all. Mostly because he was still scared of what could happen. And the fact that they were his dear friends also didn't help the fact. But he was making steady progress in his training. Tai had come up to him a week after he was moved into the house and offered to train him. He was hesitant to say the least.</p><p>
  <strong>Flashback</strong>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>It was early morning, and Jaune was currently sitting outside and looking at the small puddle that was left after the rainstorm that came through. He was looking at his reflection in the murky water. He wasn't dumb. not by any means stupid, i mean, he's got a couple millennia of living to attest for that. So he could tell that the other adults of the household did not trust him all that much. Sure, Summer trusted him. She even tried to initiate conversation between him and Qrow, Raven and Tai. Taiyang was more tolerant of him, but he was still trying to keep his distance. Raven...she was a mixed bag. When Summer was around, she was more open. And even when she wasn't around, she was somewhat open. But she would also send him small glares from time to time. Clearly telling him that she didn't trust him. Qrow was completely untrusting. But in a very subtle way. He would give him snarky remarks, rude nicknames, and would give every excuse to have an eye on him. And he could have sworn that whenever he wasn't around, he would have a crow do it for him. But that's not what was bothering him...well, not all that's bothering him. He wanted a way to train and use his powers without making himself look any more suspicious.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That's when he heard someone walking up to him. When he turned around, he saw that Tai was walking up to him. The man waved at him when he saw that he had Jaune's attention. Jaune then got up and dusted off the cargo shorts he had on. When he looked back up, Tai was only a few feet away from him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey, Jaune. I want to ask you something." Tai said, gaining Jaune's attention. He was wondering what he could want. he almost never asked him for anything.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Sure, what do you need?" Jaune asked, looking up at the taller man attentively. He was pretty tall. That's another thing that's been bothering him for these past few days. He. Was. Short. As. All hell. It was bad enough that he was severely limited in his abilities now, but did his father really have to resort him into this form? He gets it. Like, if he was a fully grown man, he highly doubts that they would be trusting him-even if they don't trust him all that much anyways-even less than now...still doesn't mean he likes it though.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well, i came by to ask you if you wanted to train with me?" Tai asked. Jaune looked at him for a second.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blink.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blink.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blink.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Nani?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"N-nothing. But...training? are you sure? I mean, if I…hurt you, i don't know if i could forgive myself. I'm trying to be a Hunter like you. Not a murderer." Jaune said, kicking at the still moist dirt and pocking his index fingers together. As much as he finds it completely degrading, he has to keep up the 'small child' persona up, lest he's forced to show his true colors...not that he was evil or anything, it's just that he didn't want anyone to know exactly what he is...yet. He knows that eventually he'll have to tell someone about it, but with how things are now...he's going to hold off on that front for a little bit longer. Or when they trust him enough, whatever comes first.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I mean, yeah. I know that you must be strong. Don't know exactly how strong, but i guess strong enough to survive the Grimlands. So don't worry, I'll try to be careful. and that's actually the reason why I'm going to train you. Not really to make you stronger, but to try and give you technique, and self control. So...you in or what?" Tai asked, raising his right eyebrow. Jaune paused for a second. The risk of this training. Where would they even train? How would he train? It was all so concerning. Why would he even want to do this for him in the first place?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"First of all, the reason I'm doing this is because Summer asked me to. Second, we're going to an old clearing that we used to use for this exact reason. And third, i will be supervising what you will do...oh, and Qrow's going to be joining us. Not sure what he's gonna do though. Probably sit on his ass and do nothing." Tai said, and as he was chuckling to himself, they both heard some rustling in the brush behind them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah, and just telling people what to do is better than making sure you don't get your ass handed to you on a silver platter." Qrow said, coming out of the forest behind them. Tai looked at him for a quick second before giving him a carefree smile.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Shut the fuck up Qrow."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"That's another Lien in the Swear Jar!" Came the distant voice of Summer. Tai scrunched up his eyebrows before turning his upper torso in her direction.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How did you even hear me!?" Tai called back, generally confused how she heard him from that distance. He wasn't even talking all that loud.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I always know! You should remember that!" Summer answered, causing Tai to face palm in response.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Of course you do. Anyways, what are you actually going to do, Qrow? I mean yeah you'll be supervising, but i don't see how that's important right now." Tai said, voicing his confusion. Qrow simply smirked before he he wrapped his arm around Jaune in a sideways hold.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well, i guess i could teach him a thing or two about weaponry. As strong as you say you are, i hardly think you can be indestructible, so i think we'll see what type of weapon you want to make, and we'll go from there." Qrow said, getting all up in Jaune's face. Jaune himself was reeling from the stench of his breath. The man didn't drink much on the rare times that he did, and while this wasn't one of those times, Jaune could tell that the man had a very bad case of morning breath. He just nodded while holding his breath.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Okay then, let's get started." Qrow said, letting Jaune go while walking in the direction he presumed was the training area. Jaune took a second to process what he was saying. He was caught off guard. Hey, he may be really old, but that doesn't mean he can read people like the title of a book.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Right now?" Jaune questioned, looking at the back of the black haired man. Qrow simply looked behind him and let out a chuckle.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't want to waste time, right? Now let's get moving, I don't have all day." Qrow said as he continued to try and catch up to the older man. Tai wasn't too far behind them. He was just praying that he didn't regret his decision later.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>(Flashback Ends)</strong>
</p><hr/><p>He was still kind of hesitant to train with them, but he wont lie, he's made some real progress in restraining his power. Now, instead of obliterating nearly everything that was in front of him, he was only shattering everything about fifty feet in front of him...Hey, that's a huge improvement all things considered! But in any case, the weapons he was training with...he was a natural apparently? At least, that's what he was told by Raven. Oh, right. Raven joined in on the training somewhere along the line.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Another Flashback)</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>"Kid, you're trying to fend off a person! not trying to survive a Goliath's attack!" Tai grunted as he was blocking a strike from Jaune. It was only thanks to the fact that Jaune was trying to hold back while hitting full force with what he limited himself with(If that makes any sense), his twin gauntlets, Shuānglóng, and his Semblance: Ruanhuà that lessened any physical damage that came his way that he was not careening trough the air at high speeds.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Sorry, it's kind of hard to hold back after so many years of just letting loose. I'll try harder next time." Jaune said as he disengaged with Tai. The man just let out a sigh and shook his head.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"That's the problem. You're trying too hard. You have to remain calm and collected. You need to relax your muscles while you move and control your strength when you decide to strike. It's called muscle control. Now, let's try that again." Tai said, readying himself again. Jaune nodded and calmed his mind. Only thinking of controlling his movements. He charged and this time, he heeded the mans words. Keeping his muscles as loose as possible while using them at the minimalist to move as fast as he wanted. When he got close enough, Tai raised both of his arms and blocked the attack. It was still a lot more than what he was expecting and he skidded back a small bit, creating a short trench in the already ruined field. He shook his arms to get the feeling back in them. But he could tell that Jaune was improving. It wasn't by much, but it was something. He smirked a small bit. This wasn't just training for Jaune either. Tai took this opportunity and also tried to make his pain tolerance and defense better, seeing what was more effective and what would fit with his fighting style.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Alright, not bad. You're getting better at this. That last hit was weaker than the one before." Tai said, and Jaune was visibly disappointed. Tai, slightly laughed and placed a gauntlet plaid hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. You think something like this is going to go by so easily? It takes patience and time. So come on, we can go on for a couple more times before we stop. I'm having fun with this anyway, so lets go." Tai said with mirth, getting into position again, and Jaune brightened at this. It seemed that through their time training, whatever resentment and distrust Tai had was dissipating. Qrow was also starting to do the same, but at a much, much slower pace. Speaking of whom.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey, hold on a minute, i want him to use something real quick." Qrow said, fetching one of the many practice weapons they had off to the side. Tai looked at him with an annoyed expression.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Qrow, i already told you, it's too early to have him practicing with a weapon now. He's barely starting to make progress without one." Tai said slightly aggravated. They already had this conversations a million times now. If Jaune could barely hold back his strength to a manageable level with only his fists, then who knows how much trouble he would have with a sword, or axe, or even a hammer! The risk was just too high.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Now hold on, i got this." Qrow said before pulling out his scroll and dialed a number before putting it up to his ear. "Hey, d'you get 'em?...Good. Bring 'em over." Qrow said, talking into the device. Jaune and Tai looked at each other before Tai shrugged and turned to Qrow as he pocketed the scroll.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey Qrow, who were you talking to?" Tai asked, to which Qrow just held up his finger and gestured them to wait. Not a second later dis a red and black vortex appear next to him. And Raven walked out, followed by a number of bulky looking drones. Tai looked between his wife, Qrow, and the bits before sighing.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Okay, when, how, and why?" Tai asked, massaging the bridge of his nose. Qrow just chuckled while Raven smiled in amusement. Qrow walked over to Tai before leaning on his shoulder and pulled out an apple out of who knows where.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well, this morning I asked sis over there to get some of these here training drones. When she asked why, i said to try and train the brat over there. She agreed on the condition that she trained him too. Of course, while thinking of you, i agreed. Then she went to old Oz and asked to borrow some of the more durable ones. Then she brought them here. So, any more questions?" Qrow explained, taking the occasional bite of his apple through the entirety of it. Tai raised his head from his hands with his eyebrows scrunched up, eyes narrowed, a frown on his face and slowly turned to face his brother-in-law.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You both look and sound like an asshole with that apple, you know that?" Tai questioned. Qrow just smiled and pushed himself off of his shoulder. He then made his way to Jaune and handed him a plain looking sword.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I know. Now then. Brat, sit over there and watch as me and Raven slice into these tin-cans. I want you to carefully analyze what were doing. And when we're done, i want you to try and do the same thing." Qrow said, practically shoving him to the tree line. He still didn't know how to feel about this, but he figured they knew what they were doing, so he trusted their judgement.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Alright Rave, let's show the brat what real Huntsmen can do." He said snarkily. Raven just smiled slightly and rolled her eyes at him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Alright, but if we're using nicknames now, I don't see why i can't give you one, Q. Now, Jaune, i want you to really focus on what I'm doing. I'm the only one out of the two of us that's competent after all." Raven said, taking out her own weapon: Razer. Qrow gave her his own eye roll before shifting Reaper into it's sword form. Tai, on the side lines next to Jaune sighed before pushing a button on a remote that Jaune didn't notice before. Immediately, the two were off.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Qrow went left as Raven went right. Silently, they decided to target the same target. The bit itself was raising a holo-sword as it was activated. The rest of the bots followed soon there after. The duo descended upon the robot closest to them. Qrow deflected it's overhead strike as Raven sliced off its arm. The two then worked together to dismember the bot limb by limb. Raven sliced it's left legs knee. Qrow sliced it's right calve before they both sliced across it's torso, completely destroying it. Then they both jumped away from each other as another bot slammed it's holo-mace into the spot the two previously occupied, completely destroying what was left of the smaller Robot. Qrow rushed to the side of the giant opponent. It raised it's weapon in response before stumbling forward. It tried to look to where the strike came from before reeling from another strike to the back of the knee. It was forced to kneel before it started receiving blows to it's sternum, it's face, it's face, and it's...well, everywhere. It was taking a beating from blurring opponents. That was, until the giant flashed red and released a small wave of power, pushing the two siblings back. It then proceeded to violently swing and smash it's weapon everywhere. It kept the two on their toes, dodging the sporadic movements of the berserking menace. In a fraction of a moment, while they were moving away from another of it's attacks, they made eye contact and had a silent conversation. Qrow stayed while Raven disappeared in one of her portals. The robot closed the distance between the two and went for another swipe at the man. He simply jumped over the swipe while he kicked it in the face. It barely even flinched before taking one of it's hands and threw a punch at the offender. But then he did something that Jaune was surprised by: He turned into a bird. After barely a second of the transformation, he reverted back and swung his sword over his head and hit the robot across the face, finally making it stumble back, giving him the perfect chance that he was looking for. He then seized the opening that he made and used a quick swipe at the only hand that was holding the holo-mace. The grip on it's weapon was lost and the raging bot was now defenseless. Qrow smirked as he quickly slid under the giant and swiped at the back of it's legs, once again forcing it to it's knees. He wasn't finished yet, as he used a stronger slash to sever it's arm from the elbow down. Finally, he stabbed the juggernaut through the chest and just as quickly pulling it out. He smirked, put his sword on his back and turned around and started walking away, not noticing the behemoth flashing red again before quickly raising it's remaining arm to smash the man into the ground as a final strike. But just as it was going to lower it's arm upon the man, Raven re-appeared above the robot, falling from her portal and quickly beheaded the tank. It froze before falling in a heap. Qrow looked back to his sister before letting out a small chuckle.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I could have dealt with it myself you know." He said as she sheathed her weapon. She walked up to him before pushing him a bit with her shoulder, a smirk of amusement clearly written on her face. She would never get tired of her brothers attitude.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh yeah? I save your ass and i don't even get a thank you? You are such an ungrateful younger brother." Raven retorted, bringing up the ten minute difference in their age. She knew it pissed him off when she brought it up, but that's exactly why she did it in the first place. Just to get under his skin. Because if she didn't, she wouldn't be a very good older sister now would she?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey! You said you wouldn't bring that up anymore! That is not cool, Rave. Not cool." Qrow grumbled as he walked past the dismembered forms of the robots that Raven took care of when she disappeared. She laughed a small bit and smiled warmly. It's been a while since she was able to fight alongside her brother...or at all now that she thought about it. This exercise actually helped her 'shave' off the rust she built up. Get it? Shave? Because her weapon's name is Razor?...Maybe Tai was rubbing off on her too much.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I promised no such thing. All I said, was that i wouldn't bring it up all too often. But all joking aside, this was fun. I don't get to do this with you all too often. Maybe we should make this a thing." Raven suggested. Qrow thought about it a small bit before dipping his head to the left and hummed in confirmation.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You know what? Why not? At least we can have fun while we train the brat." Qrow said, reminding his sister why they did the demonstration in the first place. She looked from her brother to Jaune who was waving at her, to her husband who was giving her a supportive smile and applauding her. She smiled at him and nodded in thanks before turning her gaze back to Jaune and started approaching him. Qrow following soon after her, and popping the joints in his neck. He wasn't going to lie, that was the first real spar in a while. All the missions Oz was giving him were strictly recons. He never got to fight anything. He was always either gathering evidence, on a steak-out, retrieving a dead-drop, or just plain spying. He understands the need to be cautious, but you cant cage a lion. keep it in there for weeks on end, release it and just expect it to just leave peacefully. He needed action in his life damnit!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Good work you two, I'm glad that you haven't lost your synergy. You handled the situation perfectly." Tai said, praising them. Raven walked up to him and kissed him before hugging him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Thank you, Tai. I'll be sure to do this with you another day." Raven said, as she felt his arms wrap around her. Qrow just rolled his eyes at the scene while Jaune smiled at the two. They looked cute together like that. And what few times he's seen Summer and Qrow have those moments, he thinks that they look even more, if not just as cute as them together. Qrow cleared his throat to get their attention and Tai just looked at him with a questioning gaze while Raven raised one of her eyebrows at him. Qrow then gestured to Jaune with his thumb and raised both his eyebrows while keeping the rest of his facial features neutral.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Guys, we still got a brat to train." Qrow said monotonously. Raven looked at her husband before giving him a chaste kiss and breaking away from him. She then went up to Jaune and knelt down to his level.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Listen Jaune, I, along with Tai and my Idiot brother," She started, getting a 'Hey!' from her brother. "Are not going to go easy on you. Tai, could you give me the remote? Thank you." Raven said, receiving the remote from her confused husband. She then pushed a few buttons on it and miraculously, all of the robots started rebuilding themselves. Jaune was in awe, and then got an idea, but pushed it to the back of his mind to focus on Raven as he noticed that she was talking to him "We will push you to your limits. We will whip you into the shape. And we will not stop until we see you the best you can be. Are you ready?" Raven asked, and Jaune thought back to Dux before nodding in determination. Raven then threw him to the middle of the clearing, right smack in the middle of the hoard of robots before she pushed a few more buttons and the robots all flashed red and charged at Jaune, who was now holding onto his weapon tightly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"START!"</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>(End Of Another Flashback)</strong>
</p><hr/><p>Ever since then, he's improved in both his hand to hand combat, and his weapon mastery. Raven and Qrow are now much more open to him. Qrow even stopped calling him brat!</p><p>"Hey brat! come on inside! You got cooking duty again!" Qrow called out from the house before going back inside.</p><p>...Okay, maybe he calls him brat from time to time, but at least now it's only out of jest. But right now, he was trying to focus his energy into his hands and was currently making an orb of water the size of a basketball float in front of him. He was out of practice when it came to bending the elements. He knew there was dust for the task, but why use something that'll go to waste when you use them once when you can potentially do a much better job yourself? But after he heard Qrow, he decided he would call it for the day. The sun was starting to set, and they didn't like it when he made them wait for his cooking. He honestly only found his cooking to be okay. Ruby said she really liked it. Everyone else...nothing needs to be said about them. So he made his way into the house to prepare another dish. As it turns out, the person that keeps popping into his head whenever he wants to make a delicious dish was a man named...Gordone Ramsess. Had quite the mouth on him. He also made the weirdest analogies. But he shook his head as he entered the kitchen, looked at what he had to work with, and went at it.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Time Skip Presented To You By A Chibi Family Tearing Into Their Meals While Ruby And Jaune Eat Calmly)</strong>
</p><p>It was after dinner and Jaune was in bed, trying to rest when the door opened quietly and just as quietly closed. When he sat up to see who it was, he saw that it was Qrow with a dead serious expression. Before Jaune could ask what was happening, Qrow raised his fingers to his lips to signal that he should stay quiet. Jaune understood that something serious was happening and he nodded, quietly getting out of bed and slowly walking up to the man. He in turn leaned down and started to whisper to him.</p><p>"Intruders outside the house. Raven has already escorted the girls out of here. Tai and Summer are waiting for us in the other room." Qrow said in barely a whisper, but Jaune heard him. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but if it was serious enough to make them all like this, then he was going to treat it as seriously as they were. So he whispered just as quietly back to him.</p><p>"How many-"</p><p>
  <strong>*BOOM!*</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Pest Control</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaune and Qrow were immediately gunning it towards the front porch. From what little time they spent running, they heard more explosions going off in quick succession. When they arrived outside of the house, they saw that the field was littered with all kinds of Grim; from the average Beowulf, Boarbatusk, and Ersa to the powerful Chimera. And in the distance, they could even see small grouping of Ghouls.</p><p>Ghouls are much like your average zombie, but these...are much more vicious. While they have the appearance of a rotting corpse, their strength was quite extraordinary. A single Ghoul could lift an entire house with no problem, and they could (on occasion) even out speed a Bullhead. The only downside to these creatures was that they had almost no armor plating, so a well placed strike would be able to bring one down. They were extremely rare and only sighted on the most dangerous of expeditions to the Grimlands, so to see them here...</p><p>"Kid, you stay back, we can handle the rest of 'em!" Qrow ordered as he clashed with an Alpha Beowulf. Jaune was perplexed. Why didn't Qrow want him to fight? He could clear this entire field no problem if he had enough time. He wanted to argue with the man, to tell him that he should fight too, that he would be a great advantage in this battle, but before he could think anymore, Qrow hacked away at another Beowulf before turning to him once again.</p><p>"Listen, you hardly have any control over your power, and I don't trust you to be able to keep yourself from blowing one of us away 'on accident' with one of your punches, so do us a favor and stay out of the way. Raven isn't here right now, so we have to work double time if we want to deal with whatever the hell is going on. Now go! Get out of here!" Qrow demanded as he held back a lanky arm of a Wendigo.</p><p>Wendigos are usually found in the forests of Atlas, during one of their frequent snow storms. They were, on average, a towering eight feet tall, with long legs and lanky arms. They looked similar to the Ghouls in a way that their bodies looked rotten and decomposed. Reports have stated that while fighting the Grim, it didn't seem to rely on eyesight, but in a way of heat seeking. Upon capturing one for testing, it was recorded to have no eyes. The reasoning behind this was most likely because during the snowstorms, the snow fall could block any and all visibility. It appeared to have sensors within it's sunken eye sockets and mouth, which easily distinguished a warm body from the freezing snow, giving them a large advantage within their environment. However, the Wendigo has only a fraction of the strength of a Ghoul, and not nearly as swift. Moreover, that didn't mean that they weren't fast on their own. In fact, they could even catch up to a speeding car if they wanted to.</p><p>Despite these facts flashing through his mind, Jaune ignored them for the simple fact that he felt hurt. Didn't Qrow trust him? After all those months of training together, joking around and the great times they had shared, he still didn't trust him? He was so struck by the revelation, he didn't even flinch when he found himself plopping down on the front porch, he also didn't notice the apathetic look Qrow gave him before running to catch up with Tai and Summer, who were currently dealing with a grouping of Wreckers.</p><p>Wreckers were Grim with large muscular bodies. They were fairly tall, being able to reach over houses within their slouched postures. They usually had their entire body covered in bone plating, and their strength was unrivaled, taking down entire legions of other Grim in their rage. They were also known for their highly aggressive attitude, even more so than the average Deathstalker. They are always found individually, and never in groups. Whenever one would come across another, they would clash to assert dominance. However, it would seem that the four in front of them were setting aside their squabble for another time. The only weakness these Grim have were the fact that they are extremely slow, hardly able to block any incoming attacks. So with a strong enough firearm, or sharp enough blade, a Hunter could slice off the beast's head due to it's exposed neck. That was put into full swing when Qrow promptly separated one from it's body just as it was going to bring it's fist down on Tai. Who scoffed and gave the man a light hearted smile.</p><p>"Thanks, but I could have managed. Where's Jaune?!" Tai called out, as he dodged a strike from one of the hulking Grim and knocked it's head back with a right hook of his own. Summer then took advantage of this opening and jumped up to the giant's shoulders. She then stabbed the blade of her Blossom into it's neck and sank it deep into the Grim's torso. With this new leverage, she vaulted herself over the screeching creatures head and used her drop force to tear the weapon out of the Wrecker along with most of it's chest cavity. The Wrecker in a death frenzy, started swinging it's arms wildly. Summer was already out of the way when it was bringing both of it's arms down. Tai stood his ground and caught the Grim's arms before tossing them aside and launching himself towards the staggered berserker. He then pulled back his fist, the Wrecker roaring at him before he forcibly turned it's head backwards, promptly snapping it's neck and silencing it for good. The Grim dropped to the ground with a grand thud. But they weren't done yet. Qrow was able to take down another one with some difficulty, they noticed that there were about two more raging Wreckers that arrived out of nowhere. However, it would seem that whatever was keeping them from fighting each other had stopped working, because they started not only face against each other, but the Grim around them as well. The three took advantage of this and stopped to lay out a game plan, but first...</p><p>"Qrow, where's Jaune? I thought you were going to get him out here." Summer asked as she looked around. Qrow flicked his sight to her before looking at the rapidly decreasing number of Grim. He noted that the Chimera were now fighting the Wreckers alongside the other legions of Grim. But what concerned him were the six Ghouls, two Deathstalkers, three Beringal, and a lone Goliath that were standing by, doing nothing. Grim doing nothing was always far more deadly than a Grim doing anything. But he still had to answer his wife. He's made the mistake of ignoring her once, and vowed of never doing that again...</p><p>"He would have gotten in the way. Told him to sit this one out. I don't trust that he'll be able to keep himself in check." Qrow answered, seeing that one of the Wreckers were killed by the Chimera, there were almost no smaller Grim and the Chimera was looking fairly better than the remaining Wrecker. Summer furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a side glance. She knew what he meant, and she knew what he probably said. She wouldn't be a very good wife if she didn't know her own husband now would she?</p><p>"So you told him what? 'Get out of here, I don't trust that you won't kill us all?' Is that what you're telling me, Qrow?" Summer asked, feeling angry and annoyed. Angry at Qrow for doing such a thing, and annoyed that the Chimera, which was considerably harder to kill than the Wrecker, had won and was currently making its way towards them. Qrow got into a fighting stance and shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>"Yeah, that sounds like him. However, while I don't like how he handled it, I'm actually going to have to-egh, <em>agree with Qrow.</em> Blegh, I think I'm gonna vomit." Tai said, adding his two cents. He was obviously joking near the end, but he was serious about agreeing with Qrow. He trusted Jaune yes, but he still knew that Jaune had a ways to go before he would be able to fight with other people without endangering them.</p><p>"Meh." Qrow responded, getting an exasperated sigh from Summer. She may love the man, but she'll be damned if she didn't hate his methods sometimes.</p><p>'<em>Oh great, the Chimera's coming over, and it looks like it didn't even get a scratch from it's fight with the Wrecker!'</em> Summer thought. Well, at least she'll be able to let out her frustration on the Grim...or she would, if the thing didn't just spontaneously explode!</p><p>"What the hell?" Qrow exclaimed, caught off guard by the sudden murder of the Grim. He was about to question who did that, but then he noticed a mop of blonde hair and narrowed his eyes. He thought he had told the kid to get out of here. His strength was too dangerous to be used in a fight with them.</p><p>He didn't really trust Jaune much, he only put up the charade of warming up to the kid so that he could possibly exploit his trust, should the need arise. Did that make him a bad person? Maybe, but he had his family to think about here. How would you react if a super-powered child came into your life out of nowhere, with a supposed past that can't be confirmed? Qrow has made too many enemies to <em>ever</em> trust someone again. With his line of work, and the most recent revelation that an organization that has been working behind the scenes, how is he supposed to know this kid wasn't just one of the members of that organization sent to assassinate them because they thought he knew too much? He just couldn't take that chance. He had, not only his sister, Tai and Summer to worry about, he also had a <em>niece and daughter</em> to think about too. There was too much on the line to not take precautions. And with this invasion, he actually thought that Jaune was going to attack them when they were busy fighting the other Grim. But he was caught off guard with this stunt. That could have easily been one of them, so was this a power play on his part? Showing them what he could do to them in the future? Whichever it was, he didn't like it.</p><p>"Alright, you got two seconds to explain before I boot you out of-" Qrow tried to say, but was promptly shut up when Jaune sent him a hard glare. The blonde was standing there, covered with the Chimera's black blood that was rapidly evaporating. It felt like the kid let out a wave of oppressing energy that washed over all of- and then the glare was gone, as soon as it arrived. Qrow blinked in surprise, but furrowed his eyes in anger at the assumed threat. Summer, while still aware of the grouping of creatures off in the distance, approached the young man that was now looking at her and Tai. Jaune smiled and went to hug her, Qrow staring angrily at him the entire time. That was another thing that irked him. This punk was getting close to the rest of his family. <em>D</em><em>angerously close,</em> especially with his daughter.</p><p>He had noticed that Jaune and his daughter were hanging out more and more. He also noticed the same thing was happening between him and Yang. It was a small thing at first, barely noticeable if you didn't pay attention, but now? They spent most of the day hanging out with each other, and getting more <em>touchy feely </em>than he would find comfortable. It wasn't anything sensual, being just hugs and the more platonic shows of affection...<strong><em>but he could see the subtle changes that were happening!</em></strong> Ruby was showing Jaune more trust and content with him than she ever showed anyone. <strong>HE WAS <span>NOT</span> COOL WITH THIS AT ALL!</strong> The unmistakable symptoms of a "<span><strong><em>crush</em></strong></span>" were prevalent in his daughter. This has been going on for a few weeks now. This was concerning on a number of levels. Mostly because on Summer's side of the family, her mother was a dog Faunus. Interesting fact about dog Faunus; When they attach to someone that they like, <strong><em>especially</em></strong> at such an early age, they tend to imprint on that person <em><strong>FOR. LIFE.</strong></em></p><p>What made it worse was the fact that not only did Yang seem to be the same, but <em>apparently,</em><em> <span>no one else was seeing this!</span></em> Summer just thought the kids were getting along swell, Tai seemed to just be content that the brat was 'treating them nicely' as he put it, and even his own sister was blind to the blatantly obvious seduction that the little shit was using on his daughter and niece! Needless to say, Qrow was seething. But he held his tongue. He didn't get this far by letting his anger take him over. He took a deep breath to reign in his absolutely <strong>boiling</strong> wrath.</p><p>"Jaune! You're just in time, we got the rest of the Grim under control, but we still got those ones over there to deal with. They've just been standing there the entire time. We think their up to something...but then again, Grim are always up to something now aren't they?" Summer said with a small giggle, returning the hug while minding the weapon in her hand. Jaune gave her a smile before looking back at the awaiting creatures of the night. They were... Just standing there?</p><p>He didn't really know much, if any, of the negative emotions that came with being human, but he knew anger. With the small time he's spent here with this family he's come to cherish, he also learned to feel all the things that came with having people who generally cared for you.</p><p>Tai was like the father that he always wanted. He would train him, tell him how he could improve, what he was doing right, and he never gave up on him no matter how many times he would fail. Whenever Jaune did fall, Tai would offer his hand to him and pick him up. Don't even get him started on Summer. She was kind, loving, and just made him feel like he could-for once in his entire life-be himself and depend on her, to confide in her when he felt weak. He always felt comfortable around her, never feeling like she would do anything to purposefully hurt him. She was the mother he never had. Raven, for all her reclusive and reluctant attitude toward him, was actually very much like Summer in a way that she would listen to him and give him advice on how to do certain things. Granted, most of those things were about combat and how to take down an enemy more efficiently, but still, she gave off this calm and collected demeanor about her. And while she was <em>similar </em>to Summer in some ways, she was simultaneously different. She was calculated, figuring out what was wrong on her own instead of asking. She once said to him, "As a Huntsman, I have two duties. One is to protect my people, whether their human or Faunus is irrelevant. The second, is fighting off any and all threats that may come my way. As a mother, I have two other duties: to take care of my daughter, and to look after my family." When he asked her which one he was a part of, she simply gave him a warm smile and patted his head before walking away. He viewed her as an aunt, or second mother if you would. He was happy that the three adults treated him so nicely. And then there were Ruby and Yang to consider. He's gotten along with them so well that he felt like they would be together forever...but that in no way was meant to signify his feelings for them. Nope. <em>Not in the slightest</em>...<em>anyway</em>, moving on to the one person that made him angry in the first place: <strong>Qrow</strong>.</p><p>That man, Jaune didn't hate him. He couldn't. He knew that there would be a possibility of Qrow suspecting him of having an ulterior motive, But that didn't mean he wasn't pissed. He could have just said, "I don't trust you" and he would have been okay with that. Yet there he was, silently seething in the corner and sending him the most heated death glare he'd ever seen. The man was...well, he was as skilled as he was stubborn...and snarky...and gruff...and just generally himself. Jaune just shook his head to focus on the task at hand.</p><p>"Hmm. That...seems to be a sort of...squad I want to say?" Jaune said, looking through a vast array of information to see if there were any other cases like this one. He did find one result, but it was fairly vague. It only described an event in time where a hoard of assorted Grim layed waste upon a settlement that was rumored to have a large population of warriors with...silver eyes. How curious. "The only thing that could relate to this was when a pack of uh...what was it? They were...ah, Mannequins! That was it! God they were creepy." Jaune said.</p><p>Mannequins were Grim that somehow found a way to look even more terrifying with it's statuesque posture. What made them especially dangerous-and scary-was that it only moved when you looked away. Scientists couldn't figure out why they did this, if only to instill fear among anyone who faced them. Now this wouldn't be a problem if they didn't like to come in groups of ten or twenty at a time and surround it's chosen target. This Grim in particular was one of the major reasons that lone Huntsmen and Huntresses became K.I.A.</p><p>"More like a ragtag team of deadbeats." Tai said, getting into a fighting stance. However, after a few moments, he froze. He then turned to Jaune and had a dead serious look adorning his face. "Did you say...<em>Mannequins?"</em> Tai asked, his face twisting into a mix of horror and sadness. Jaune looked to him after stretching, curious about why the man took such a turn from what he usually acted like.</p><p>"Umm, yeah, I have. Why?" Jaune asked, keeping an eye on the Grim in the distance. They were starting to stir now. They weren't coming over to them, but they were doing something. Tai walked up to the young man and placed his gauntlet clad hands on his shoulders. His face never changing.</p><p>"You're telling me. That you, by yourself, faced a pack of Mannequins...<em><strong>and lived?</strong></em>" Tai asked, tightening his grip on Jaune's shoulders. Jaune was starting to worry now. Why was Tai acting like this? He turned to Summer, who was looking at them with a look of guilt. He looked back to Tai who was still looking at him with expecting eyes. Jaune cleared his throat before carefully choosing his words.</p><p>"And...if I did?" Jaune asked, and not a second later did Tai embrace him in a tight hug. Jaune was caught off guard, this was already something that he didn't expect. What the hell was happening!? One minute, he was standing off against the forced of Grim, the next he's-he's crying? What the fu-</p><p>"Thank god. You don't know how much that means to me." Tai cried out. Jaune was still in the dark here. What the hell did he do? Was it good? Bad? There were so many questions and no answers! He didn't really know what to do here. So he just returned the hug, however reluctant he was. He may not know why this was happening, but he figured that Tai would tell him soon enough. And he would have, if not for Jaune's instincts screaming at him to move. So he tightened his grip on Tai and quickly leaped to the side. Not a moment later, something slammed into the space that they used to occupy. Jaune was immediately moving, releasing a surprised Tai and raised his arms to block a strike from the giant figure. A decent sized crater was created below their feet, and Jaune was able to get a good look at the figure. He was towering, even larger than a Wrecker. His build seemed to rival them as well. The man was a giant, his tan skin, deep brown hair...and that beard! that beard was magnificent! Not long after their clash did the man jump back, dodging a strike from Summer. Jaune was able to get a good look at what the giant was wearing.</p><p>The man adorned a sleeveless tail coat that covered his upper torso and a bit of his legs. with it opened however, he could see a black V-neck undershirt. He could also see that he was wearing a pair of very dark brown cargo pants. His feet were covered by two steel-tipped combat boots. He didn't seem to have any weapons on him, so Jaune guessed that he was a fist-fighter. Jaune smirked.</p><p>That could work.</p><p>"Who the hell are you!?" Qrow asked, standing next to his wife. He was already over his anger, if only for now. He had no idea who this guy was, but he dreaded the idea that they may be from that organization he was talking about earlier. If that was true, then...</p><p>He saw Jaune with his fists up and smirking.</p><p>That smirk could mean anything. It could be his confidence that he could beat this guy-which, in all honesty, he probably could-, it could be excitement that he could fight someone different than normal, or it could be that he knew the man and that they were working together to make sure that this assassination attempt went by smoothly...he knew that logically, it was most likely the first two, but a large part of him still wanted to believe that Jaune was still a spy sent to kill them. He would have kept on with his rant, but it would seem the new comer had something to say.</p><p>"My name is Hazel Reinhart. You are Qrow Branwen, a Huntsman of nearly 8 years experience, brother-in-law to Taiyang Xiao-Long, younger sibling to Raven Branwen, husband to Summer Rose and father to Ruby Rose." The Man said, causing Qrow to tighten the grip on his weapon further. When he was going to further push his questioning however, Hazel continued with his list. And it terrified Qrow to the bone.</p><p>"Both belong to the Silver Eyed Warriors." Hazel finished, making Qrow and Tai widen their eyes. No one was supposed to know about that! Tai was gritting his teeth. This...was bad. If this guy knew about that, then what else did he know? There were a lot of questions and no answers. Too many variables to make a move. They would have to wait and see what they were going to do before making any-</p><p><strong>"YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!"</strong> Qrow exclaimed, rushing towards the man. Hazel didn't move in the slightest, he didn't even flinch. Qrow was about to chop his head off when something caught his attention. It was small, almost faint. But it caused him to freeze up, an inch away from decapitating Hazel.</p><p>"Daddy?"</p><p>Qrow's head swirled so fast that Jaune thought that he might snap his own neck. But disregarding that, he also turned his head, seeing Ruby and Yang being held with a sword at their necks. Raven was on the ground with multiple cuts and bruises covering her face and body. Her cloths were tattered, and her armor broken. The man that was holding the two girls was none other than Tyrian. A mechanical tail moving about behind him and a twitching robotic arm holding a small cube looking object. He had a smug look on his face. Tai's eyes widened and he started hyperventilating. Jaune on the other hand, starting to feel a certain rage start to build up inside him. The thought of someone trying to hurt the ones that have cared for him, the ones that have treated him with nothing but care. And the thought of someone hurting two of the most important people in his life...he wanted to let loose. To forget holding back and just tear into the bastards, but he couldn't. If he tried anything, Tyrian would no doubt...he wouldn't hesitate. Summer was looking frantic, her eyes dashing between her daughter, her niece, her husband, and Raven. This situation looked bleak. From the fact that Raven was apparently beaten by Tyrian, to how their children were currently being held hostage by a maniac.</p><p>"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Take one more step and your precious little daughter is going to take a little trip to grandma's." Tyrian warned, pointing to them with his new tail. It was made to be lethal. From the appendage, that had many different segments, each one of them being as sharp as a blade, the stinger being more sleek than the original, a glowing green line running down the middle. His arm wasn't anything too significant, but it had the same green lines as the tail going up the length of it. The man was significantly more serious from the last time Jaune saw him. He was keeping the two girls close to him, blade pushed up to their necks. Yang looked angry, trying to make the man lower his arm with no success. Summer, coming out of her small panic attack, looked angry as all hell.</p><p>"Leave them out of this! They're just children! What do you people want from us anyway!? Are you really willing to threaten the lives of innocent children!?" Summer yelled, looking between Hazel and Tyrian. She had to be careful on how she approached the situation. One wrong move and that bastard would...</p><p>"As much as I hate using this sort of tactic, I was informed of a certain individual that should not be taken lightly." Hazel spoke up, looking towards Jaune. He looked up and down the smaller figure, He was only wearing a pair of light blue pajama bottoms, allowing Hazel to see that the small boy had muscles that he really shouldn't have. "And I believe this boy is much more than meets the eye." Hazel continued, looking back to Qrow he stared at him for a few seconds before suddenly delivering a lightning fast chop to his neck. Qrow's eyes widened and he was forced to the ground, his entire body going numb. Jaune's anger was starting to boil now. Qrow might have been an ass half of the time, but Jaune still cared for the man. Besides, Qrow was warming up to him whether he knew it or not. It was subtle. Extremely so actually. But Jaune could see it. At first, the man would hardly talk to him, even when Jaune would try to strike a conversation he would walk away, or just ignore him outright. But now? He would actually start a conversation himself, if only rarely. Jaune was struggling to keep himself from rushing at the giant. He wanted to get him. He wanted to make sure he never hurt another person ever again, but he knew that if he did anything, the girls would both be slaughtered.</p><p>"No..." Jaune said, the thought of the two girls going away and never coming back was a thought that almost completely killed his anger and replaced it with an extreme case of loathing. He couldn't explain it, but he literally couldn't see a life without them being there. It might have been because they were such good friends. It might be because he felt such a strong connection to the two. But deep down, he knew the truth. He had done some research on his own, trying to figure out why he was feeling the way he was, and what it was in the first place. The first thing he came to find was called a 'crush': An attraction to someone. Apparently it fades over time, but Jaune felt something more for them. It was strong. He had lost quite a bit of sleep over the subject. Three days and nights he had tried to wrap his head around it, and he had come to one conclusion. When he realized it, he found it made the most sense. How strong of a connection it felt, how he would want to spend as much of his free time as possible with them, and why he would get this fuzzy feeling inside when they smile or laugh.</p><p>He was in love with them.</p><p>Plain and simple. It wasn't the platonic type either. Not the kind he's come to feel for Summer, Tai, or even Raven. It was starting to bloom for Qrow, but it wasn't quite there yet. What he had for the two was a romantic love. One shared between...couples. He figured that with the fact that he was <em>technically</em> older than them...by like...eons. He would be labeled as something called a 'Predator', or 'Pedophile'. He's seen what those people have done, and what's happened to those people in prison. In short, he didn't like that idea...at all. <em>But</em>, there was also the technicality that he was around eight-<em>ish</em>. It was a complicated matter. There's also the fact that as a divine entity he was <em>technically</em> exempt from the flow of time and therefore <em>ageless</em>. There were a lot of technicalities in there. So he decided that he wouldn't really do anything about it until he was 'older'. That aside, he had more important things to worry about than girl troubles...actually, thinking about it again, he realized that the girls were <em>in</em> trouble. That reignited the anger in him tenfold. These damn mother flubbers were holding Ruby and Yang hostage!</p><p>Hazel was looking down at the collapsed form of Qrow when he felt an oppressing aura coming from the small child. Summer and Tai felt it too and were struggling to stand. Qrow was now starting to have trouble breathing when he saw that Jaune's Aura was flaring. It was a pure white, not a hint of another color. And it was <em>huge</em>, like, as large as a skyscraper. It left them in awe.</p><p>"Damn." Hazel cursed. He wasn't expecting this. He was strong, no doubt about it, but in the face of that...it was concerning to say the least. He was starting to doubt if he could actually fight this boy. He was also starting to question if the boy was even human. He looked to Tyrian, only to find him in a nervous sweat. That caught him off guard. Tyrian never looked nervous. What the hell did this kid do to him? A few months ago, when his master sent Tyrian to kill the silver eyed warrior, he had come back with a bloody stump and without his tail. It took Watts hours to get him under long enough to sever the loose strands of muscle and sear the wounds. Tyrian wouldn't shut up about how the '<em>freak</em>' would pay for what he did to him. It wasn't long until he started to demand for a new arm and tail. Watts complied with a little convincing. The next few months were spent vigorously training. His obsession was quite concerning. He kept spouting how the little tyke was fast enough to easily dodge every swing Tyrian thew at him, and strong enough to devastate each of his appendages with a punch each. His master seemed intrigued in the boy. She ordered Tyrian and himself to invade the home he resided in and use any tactic to make him kneel to them. Instead of telling them to have him join them, she told them to kill him. The strange thing though, is that his master didn't seem to be entirely there, like someone else was inhabiting her body. They seemed to have a sort of <span><em>divine</em></span> air around them. A day later, she was back to normal. He shook his head, dismissing his previous thoughts to focus on the task at hand. The situation seemed to be getting tense. His leverage right now were the hostages that Tyrian had. He stared at Jaune, trying not to give away anything as Jaune was glaring back at him, trying to intimidate the man.</p><p>"Are you going to fight me? That would not be a wise choice. If you make one move against either of us, we will not hesitate to kill them." Hazel threatened, gesturing Tyrian to show them they mean business. Tyrian looked between him and Jaune before regaining the devilish smirk he was known for.</p><p>"That's right, you do anything and these little girls will be one head short." Tyrian said, bringing his blades tip to Ruby's cheek and carving a line along the right side of her face. Ruby cried out in pain, letting out small whimpers not unlike a kicked puppy. a Yang stopped struggling and stared on in horror. She was terrified. Her mother was on the floor, unconscious, her cousin and herself were being held hostage by a madman, and now he was threatening to kill them.</p><p>"Mommy! Help me!" Ruby cried, tears starting to roll down her cheeks, she winced when her tears were getting into the cut. Summer was a wreck now. Her daughter was crying for her, but she couldn't do anything unless she wanted to lose a daughter and her niece. She just held her hand out to her with her own tears rolling down her face.</p><p>"Don't worry baby! Everything's going to be alright! You just have to be strong for Mommy, okay!?" Summer cried. She felt so helpless. She couldn't do anything. These people had the fate of her daughter and her niece in the palm of their hands. She was struggling to keep herself together. She had to stay strong for Ruby. She had to show her daughter that her mother could save her. To show her that she was the hero that she already though she was.</p><p>"Yang! Don't worry sweetheart! Daddies going to make everything better! You just have to be patient!" Tai called. He was frustrated, angry, and scared at the same time. He was frustrated that he couldn't do anything. He was angry that the fuckers were holding his daughter hostage and for beating his wife. He was also scared at the prospect of losing both of them. He would have yelled at Hazel if the oppressing Aura didn't increase drastically, forcing both him and Summer to their knees. He looked over to Jaune and saw him more angry than he had ever seen anyone.</p><p>"You hurt her." Jaune said in barely restrained anger. He was livid-no, he was beyond livid. They dared to even think about harming one of the people he loves. They had the gall, the audacity to put a hand on them. He would not stand for this! He took a step toward Tyrian, who was now pointing his sword at the boy.</p><p>"H-hey! I told you, take another step and i'll kill 'em!" Tyrian threatened with a shaky voice. He was terrified of him. The phantom pains he had were still there. The <em>'monster'</em> in front of him was responsible for taking his precious tail from him. The <em>'monster'</em> was what haunted his dreams at night. He was always trying to better himself so that he could one day kill the <em>'monster</em><em>'</em> and end his fear. But this...this was not what he wanted. He was not ready to take on that <em>thing.</em> Jaune took another step, this time cracking the ground beneath him. Tyrian took a step back and put the blade to Yang's throat. He looked even more terrified now.</p><p>"I mean it! Stay away!" Tyrian yelled, starting to walk backwards. Hazel was seeing that the situation was falling apart, so he slowly reached for a black marble that he had in a pouch in his pocket. Tyrian was walking backwards when Jaune took another step and a crack formed, reaching towards a scared Tyrian. It went under his foot and opened up, causing him to stumble and accidentally let go of the girls. Realizing that they had a chance to get away, Ruby and Yang tried ran towards their parents. Tyrian saw this and tried to stab one of them with his tail, but Jaune appeared right in front of him and caught the appendage by the stinger.</p><p>"You're a dead man." Jaune said in a calm rage. Tyrian tried to pull his tail away. He tried to get away from the monster in front of him. But He had the stinger in a death grip. Jaune then tugged on the tail, bringing Tyrian towards him. He caught the scorpion Faunus by the throat and stared into his soul.</p><p>"Give me one good reason i shouldn't crush your windpipe." Jaune said, slightly tightening his grip on the man's throat. "Just. One." Jaune continued, seeing the terrified Faunus try to pry his hand from his neck. His tail was flinging wildly behind him, slamming into the ground multiple times. He struggled to breath, but he noticed that the boy was too focused on him to notice Hazel sneaking up on him. He looked back to Jaune and managed to choke out an answer.</p><p>"You could have stopped this from happening." Tyrian strained out, slightly confusing Jaune, but his instincts them forced him to let go of the tailed Faunus and duck. He felt the air right above his head distort and saw that Hazels fist had tried to rip his head off his shoulders. Jaune then went for a low sweep and followed it up with a heavy Roundhouse kick that sent the large man flying. When he looked back to Tyrian, he noticed that he was gone. He searched the surrounding area and saw that the man was rushing towards Yang, extending his tail to try and impale her. He also noticed the cube he was holding earlier was flying toward Ruby. What emerged from the cube was a small, insect like Grim. He disregarded this information for both of the threats were barely an inch from reaching their destinations. He didn't have time to think. Not even to try and focus on not hurting anyone anymore. All he knew was that he had to save the two girls that he loves, and that Tyrian was going to die by his hands.</p><p>His father gave him the power to manipulate time? he's going to put it to use. He fluctuated his power and saw the world around him crawl to a complete stop. He didn't even notice this as he rushed towards the two threats suspended in air. However, he noticed that after only a second instant of stopped time, the world slowly started to come back to life. The tail was growing ever closer to killing Yang, and the parasite slowly made it's way to Ruby. He rushed even faster, pumping his aura into his legs. When the stinger was centimeters away from Yang's heart, he grabbed it, and ripped it in half, successfully saving Yang. The sharp blades along the length of it didn't even leave a single scratch on him. An instant later, he caught the ink colored parasite, noticing that it was trying to burrow into his skin with little results. He looked back to Tyrian, realizing what he tried to do to his-<em>their</em> Ruby. In his blind rage, he took the stinger by the hand and shoved it into Tyrian's gut and forced the parasite down his throat and just as quickly pulled his hand out. After this, time started flowing normally. Yang and Ruby looked back to see the man with wide eyes and his jaw hanging loosely, a gurgling sound being heard from him. They quickly shook their heads and continued running to their awaiting parents. What they didn't see was the fist currently lodged in the assassins stomach, and the Parasite already burrowed itself into his body, going to work on not only stealing his power from him, but simultaneously killing him. Despite this, Tyrian slowly tuned his head to Jaune and was met with that same death glare.</p><p>"I'll see you in hell." Jaune whispered. He then crushed the stinger, releasing the acidic venom within it, quickly pulled his fist back and threw him into the distance. He let out a huff and looked to Hazel who was now within the tree line staring at him in anger and fear. They kept their gazes for a few moments before Hazel dropped the marble and disappeared into the wind. Jaune stayed there for a few more seconds, making sure that there weren't anymore threats in the area. He was just about done with the scan before turning around. He saw that Raven was back up and coddling a crying Yang with Tai holding them both in his arms. Qrow and Summer were also caring for Ruby and applied their Aura to heal the cut she received. Summer was whispering sweet nothings to the young girl, trying to comfort her. Raven was telling Yang how proud she was of her for trying so hard and trying to be strong for her niece. They were all relieved to be together again. They were all happy.</p><p>Jaune sighed and looked at his bloodied fist. It would seem that some of that venom got caught on his hand. He shook it and noticed that it burned through the dirt, hissing and giving off steam as it melted whatever it touched. The stuff was potent apparently. He looked to the sky and closed his eyes. He thought about all the good times he's had with this family. The friendship he's made with Ruby and Yang. He's felt things he's never thought he'd ever need. They helped with so many things. From how to act, how to eat, how to talk to people, how to fight, and how to treat others.</p><p><em>'But...'</em> Jaune thought, looking back to the still recovering family. <em>'I'm the reason this happened in the first place.'</em> Jaune continued. He thought back to how Hazel gestured to him when he told them why he and Tyrian were there to begin with. They would have to move away to make sure that they aren't taken off guard again. They'd have to leave the place they called home for so long. All because of him. <em>'I suppose it would be best if I were to leave as well. I'm too much of a danger to their health to stay with them.'</em> Jaune thought. A wave of sadness washed over him as he thought about leaving them. He knew that leaving was the right decision, but that didn't make it any less painful. He thought of Ruby and Yang. It pained him to leave them. Tears rolled down his dirtied face. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper with his clean hand, unfolding it and looking at the note that he had written beforehand. He was planning for this day before. He realized that he was slowing down on progress, and figured that if he wanted to improve further, he'd have to go out into the world and learn with experience. However, he only planed to do that in a few months, maybe a year from now. But with the way things happened tonight...he'd have to speed up his plans. He looked from the letter to the family and scrunched up his face in sadness.</p><p>"I suppose I'll see you all later then." Jaune whispered to himself as he folded the letter back up and started walking away. The last thing he did was look towards the grouping of Grim that were now stirring and decided to really figure out what his powers were now and raised two walls of dirt on either side of them before crushing them and dragging their bodies into the ground. He then started to walk away, feeling as though he had done enough for now. When he figured that he was far enough away, he released the letter and guided it with the wind to land in front of Summer. She saw it and picked it up. Reading it, she gasped and looked around to look for Jaune.</p><p>But he was already long gone.</p><p>"Jaune? Jaune!? Jaune!?" Summer called out. The rest of the family were perplexed as to why she was calling to him until they noticed a piece of paper that Summer left on the ground. Raven picked it up and proceeded to read it.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span>Dear Summer,</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <b>If you are reading this, then that means that I have left. I've realized that I have hit a wall in my training and cannot continue the way we have been going. I want you to know that I can't progress unless i get some in-field experience. You have all been such good hosts for me, and I have come to find myself seeing you, Tai, Raven, and even Qrow as my family. I never really had one to begin with, but </b>
    <b>
      <span class="u">I'm</span>
    </b>
    <b> glad that I've had one now. This was an experience that I never wish to forget. But i figured that I should stop pestering you all and wasting your time. Thank you Tai, Qrow, Raven. For training me and helping me. Thank you Summer for saving me from that dreaded place that i used to call home. As for Ruby and Yang, I want them to know that </b>
    <b>
      <span class="u">I'll</span>
    </b>
    <b> see you all in a while. I don't know when or even if i ever come back, but i want to tell them that they are quite possibly the best friends I've ever had. But I suppose that they were the only friends I've ever had. But the point is, I am eternally grateful to you all. I hope that we may cross paths again in the future.</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span>Yours truly,</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span>Jaune Noir</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>Raven sighed in slight sadness and looked to her husband who closed his eyes in acceptance. When she looked to Qrow, she saw that he had regret written on his face. She was going to put a hand on his shoulder when he suddenly got up and joined Summer in her search for Jaune. Ruby and Yang were looking around to see if they could find Jaune too, and Raven got up to look over the two, leaving the note to her husband. Tai looked over the letter again and shook his head before looking to the broken moon.</p><p>"I guess this is goodbye for now, Jaune." Tai said to himself as He looked to the rest of his family looking for the boy. He had no idea where Jaune would go, but he felt like he was cheated out of a goodbye. Even though he never said anything about, he had come to view Jaune as something that he never knew he wanted until recently.</p><p>A son.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Family Remission</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>(Summer's POV)</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>I really wish that he stayed, the families not the same without him. Everyone's feeling at least a little down. I want to be angry at him. Hell, I am angry, but I'm not angry at him. He must have been so hurt. To think that he was the reason the house was attacked. He's such a sweet boy though. Even through the trials in his life he stayed true to his heart. He almost never got angry, and he was always so polite to everyone he met. Even to Dave. Though I don't even know why he tries with that man. Dave's just a downright...he's a bad person. But with him gone, all the things we do now are done with a little less enthusiasm. I sometimes catch Raven look at the small handkerchief he made her with a sad smile. I think that she's taken the situation as bad as me and Tai. Speaking of whom, I don't think he's even given a real smile since that day. Even when he makes a pun he has to force it out. That man has made himself busy with whatever he can. The same thing could be said about Qrow. I don't think I've seen him look so guilty since the first time he actually got a hit on me during one of our sparring matches. And the kids. It just breaks my heart whenever I have to tell Ruby that Jaune's not coming back. I knew that the two were close. But after Ruby realized that he actually wasn't coming back, she locked herself in her room and didn't want to talk to anyone for the entire day. I used to think that she missed her big brother figure, but after thinking about it for a few days, I realized that it actually might have been more than that. She might have liked Jaune to a point where she might have imprinted on him. I might be assuming that though. However, my mother did say that she had imprinted on my father at around her age, so anything is Possible. But I've noticed it in Yang too, how she would always want to hang around him, and how she would smile almost as much as when she hangs out with Rave. Speaking of whom, Raven's been trying to console Yang since she's been a bit emotional recently. Me, well, I try to keep everyone's spirits up, but its hard to do that when you yourself aren't feeling that nice in the first place.</em>
</p><p>"Hey, Shortstack. We're all loaded up now. It's time to go."</p><p>"Sure Qrow. Just...just give me a few more minutes. I'm still writing in my journal. I'll be out in just a few."</p><p>"...Alright. Finish that up and meet us outside."</p><p>"Thank you Qrow."</p><p>He nods before walking up to me and places his head on top of mine, wrapping his arms around me to calm me. He could always tell when I'm distressed just as i can for him. Sometimes, I wish that we go back to simpler times. When we didn't have to worry about taxes, or bills, or even all of that stressing business of maidens and junk. But then I remember what we have now. A wonderful family, our dream job, and a loving relationship with each other. And I wouldn't trade that for the world.</p><p>"Are you going to be okay?"</p><p>"Of course. now you go on and tell the others that I'll be right out. I want to say goodbye to this place."</p><p>"...Okay. Don't take too long."</p><p>"Don't worry, I wont."</p><p>"I love you, Summer."</p><p>"I love you too, Qrow."</p><p>He likes to act like he's bitter all the time, but I know he's just a big sweet heart. It's honestly kind of cute. It's also one of the things that drew me to him in the first place. After his little blunder in trying to ask me out the first time, i ended up having to get him out of the thousand year old Grim calling itself Bob. It was one of the many adventures we shared together. Shortly after we graduated, we bought this house. It was a bit of a fixer upper, but we made it work. Not to long after, we had Ruby. I think I've wanted a baby of my own since I saw Tai and Raven have one. Ever since then, we've been one big happy family. Everything was just perfect.</p><p>"Well...almost perfect." I can't help but feel somber when i think back to when I first met Jaune. It was really sudden and wasn't something i was planning on. And yet...</p><p>"I couldn't be happier that i found him." And it's true. From the first moment i saw him, i knew there was something about him that was special. From the way he fought, to how he treated everyone, and even his cooking, he just brought the best out of all of us. He was able to give Raven the most fun any of us have seen her have. It was funny how salty Tai seemed to be that day. We even took a picture of the moment. Raven was smiling, laughing, and actually hugging Jaune almost as tight as she would Yang. Jaune was hugging her back with just as much care, laughing right alongside her. They decided to take a break from training for a day and just spent their entire morning playing outside. Tai was behind them with a strained face. Qrow wouldn't let up on that for a good couple of weeks. Raven told me later that she had already accepted Jaune as part of the family. That much I already knew. But when she told me that she actually saw him as her son, I was surprised. With the amount of familiarity she said it with, one might think she was talking about a child that she gave birth to. I told her that I already thought of him as my son too. We both thought about adopting him, but before that could happen...</p><p>"Right, the ambush happened." We were just going to go into town and get the paperwork the next morning when it happened. It was a stressful day to say the least. But the most surprising thing I took from all that was how much...power Jaune displayed that night. We could hardly stand. I had never seen or felt such a suppressing Aura before. I had never seen such an angry look on his face before. I'd only seen him mad when Dave tried talking down to Ruby. Even then, that paled in comparison to how livid he looked when he saw that Tyrian had the girls hostage. I wont lie, I was terrified when I saw that blade pressed up to Ruby's neck. I'm sure that Raven, Qrow and Tai were in the same boat. But when I saw Jaune make his way to that awful man, i swore i could have seen the silhouette of him if he were older. It was awe inspiring. When he moved, I couldn't keep up with him. One moment he's taking heavy steps toward the assassin, the next, he's holding him by the throat. I was getting back up when I saw that other man-Hazel if i can remember-had rushed Jaune while he had his back to him. Jaune then surprised me with how much strength he had by launching him into the forest with a simple roundhouse kick. I don't really know what happened with Tyrian, but when i looked to see my baby running toward me, i noticed that the Scorpion Faunus was a hairs away from Ruby and Yang. Before I could even register what he was going to do, Jaune had seemingly teleport in front of him Now i don't know what he did, but a few moments later, he tossed the bastard to the horizon. I was a little tied up with the girls that I almost forgot about Jaune altogether. It wasn't until that letter landed at my feet did i notice that Jaune was gone. After reading the note, I...I...I didn't want to believe it. That he left. We searched for hours. The girls had fallen asleep not too long after we started looking. Tai decided that he would look after them for a while. But he looked so downtrodden. I figured that he felt the same way Raven did.</p><p>"Oh Tai." He had what you would call...a tough childhood. Not that his parents were abusive of him. Quite the opposite really. His parents gave him everything they could. But they didn't really have that much to give in the first place. His family lived outside the walls of the kingdoms. They grew up in an agricultural part of the world. They were farmers. Hard working and nice people. At least, that's what he told us. Because when he was around eight, His family was attacked by a pack of...Mannequins. He was only able to get out of there because a Hunter just so happened to be nearby. It scarred him. Even when he trained under that Hunter's wing, he never did bounce back. Before he made it to Beacon, his mentor-the same one that saved his life-was killed by another pack of Mannequins. He sometimes has these night terrors of that day. And up until now, he's thought that Mannequins would take away everything that he's held dear. And i think that knowing Jaune was able to kill them before has...given him some solace. Raven told me that he had admitted that he saw Jaune as a young version of himself. It just further proves that this family just isn't the same without him.</p><p>"Where ever you are, just be safe. Please." With how powerful he is, I have no doubt in my mind that he can take on any and all obstacles in his way. But somewhere down the line, I feel that he might run into something that even he wont be able to take on. Sure he's got this insane speed, strength, and intelligence, but...deep down, I just know that there are going to be times where he's going to be pushed up against the ropes. Where he's going to be pushed to his very limits. And yet...</p><p>"He'll end up on top. I just know he will." No matter how bad things get. No matter how grim things might seem, I have faith that he'll bring peace to the world.</p><p>"Summer, we don't have much time. We'll miss our flight if we wait much longer."</p><p>"Oh, sorry Raven. I was just...lost in thought." She looked at me for a moment before giving me a sort of sad smile. That's her way of telling me that she knows what i'm thinking about. She walks up to me and envelops me in a hug which I give back.</p><p>"I miss him too. But I know we'll see him sooner or later. Now come on, we already have all of our stuff in the truck."</p><p>She let's go of me and gestures for me to follow. I take a second to look at the now empty house. I think back to the memories we shared here. It almost brings tears to my eyes. But the time for tears has already passed. We already have a home down in Vale now. The kids can learn all they need to know before Beacon from us. So as I walk out of the house, I keep a confident smile and a skip in my step. Because if nothing else, at least we'll see him when he comes to Beacon.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Raven's POV)</strong>
</p><p>As I walk alongside Summer, I can't help but smirk at how she holds herself. She seems confident in something. No doubt in the fact that Jaune's going to come back one day. I know it too. And anyone who says otherwise is just delusional. Plus, if I really wanted too, I could team up with Qrow to find out where he is and drag him back home with one of my portals. But I don't. Simply because I know he needs space. He feels hurt. I get that. And if he feels that a journey is what's best for him, then i will respect his decision. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. Ever since he left, I've been very tempted to just use one of my portals to bring him back. His inconsiderate butt didn't even give a proper goodbye. He just left a note and then up and disappears. I swear, that boy. But in any case, I have trust that he'll come back to us some day. For now, we'll just have to wait. I'd like to say that i am a very patient person considering the people i live with, but I cannot say the same for some other people. My daughter being one of them. She...She's been temperamental these past few days. First she was angry at Jaune for leaving without saying goodbye, then she was in denial that he left and thought that he was just playing a prank on her, and most recently, she's cried that he left her. Now I'm no stranger when it comes to love, Romance, or even being attracted to a guy, seeing as how I've made a family with Tai, who has been an amazing husband and an even better father. So suffice to say, I was shocked to realize that Yang was heartbroken over Jaune because she held a crush for him. But the more I thought about it, the more it actually made sense. What's funny though, is the fact that Ruby had a crush on him as well. It was adorable really, how they would play together and just generally have fun. I tried consoling Yang that he would be back, but she insists that he was never coming back. Ruby overheard Yang's rant on how Jaune left because she was too weak and that he would never like someone weaker than him. Ruby had locked herself in her room for the rest of the day then. I used a portal to get into her room and try to convince her to come out, but she just hid herself in all of her blankets and told me to leave her alone. It was heartbreaking hearing her sniffles and small sobs when I was there. But at least now we're all here and accounted for. Tai's driving this truck with me and Yang in the back seat. Qrow's driving the other truck with Summer and Ruby. I look down at Yang to see her resting her head on me. And I suppose now is as good a time as any to try and talk to her.</p><p>"Yang. Sweetie, I want to tell you something." She looks up to me as I stroke her hair. Now I know two things about my daughter that she inherited from me. She has a strong will, something that she has been lacking these couple of days, but is understandable given the circumstances. And two, she takes great pride in her hair. She has always treasured her hair as I do mine. No one has messed with either of our hair and got away with it. Summer learned that lesson when she dyed by hair pink. There are still strands of pink somewhere in there and I can't bring myself to cut them. Nor will I allow someone else to do it for me. But Yang let's me play with her hair and I let her play with mine. The only other person who is allowed to touch my hair is Tai, and even then, It's an on and off thing. So as i stroke her hair, she looks up to me and tilts her head to the side.</p><p>"What is it mommy?"</p><p>"Listen, I know you miss Jaune," As I mention his name, I can see that she's about to go on with another one of her rants on why he left, but I continue before she can start. "And I know you think he left because he thinks that you're weak." I continue, and before I can say anymore, she puts her two cents in.</p><p>"Because I am. Why would he want to stick around someone who wasn't as strong as him? What point is there to hanging around someone who will only hold you back?" She's going through the same phase i almost went through when I was pregnant with her. I couldn't fight at all during the nine months and five days that i was pregnant with her. Everyone else had to take on an extra mission or two during that time. I felt powerless. Unable to really defend myself. I thought that I would stay like that even after I had Yang. Looking back on it, I even had the ludicrous idea of running away right after giving birth to Yang. I almost went through with it too. But the moment I was looking into her eyes and holding her, I knew that I had to stay.</p><p>"Yang, Jaune left...because he didn't want to hurt <em>you</em>." I was making a educated guess of course, but anything to make my little dragon happy again is worth a try. And the look on her face tells me that she almost believes it, I just have to sell it.</p><p>"R-really?"</p><p>"Yes. He knew that he was too strong to be able to play with you without hurting you too." Another grasp at straws, but it seems to be working. I think a little more convincing and she'll be okay.</p><p>"But he would play with us all the time...but he did always try to do so little when we did. And when we tried to spar, he'd only watch or let us hit him. Was he really that strong?"</p><p>"Mhm, he was really strong. I think he was so strong that he thought that you wouldn't be able to hurt him." Now this was going to do one of two things. One: send me back all the way to square one, trying to console her while she spouted incoherent nonsense, or...</p><p>"'Wouldn't be able to hurt him?' Ha! I'll show him. I'll get super strong and show him that I can be even stronger than he is!" Not likely, but at least she's got her spirits back. I knew that she would answer like that. She <em>is</em> my daughter after all. I'll have to push her a little more if she really want's to get to his level.</p><p>"You know, I was going to tell you later on, but I think you might need to hear this now if you want to get stronger." She looked at me in such a way that almost rivaled Ruby's cuteness. Really, if i hadn't spent all those hours on the clinic myself giving birth to her, I would question if Yang was actually Summer's.</p><p>"Hmm? Tell me what, Mommy?" I leaned in, getting right next to her ear, as if it were a secret that nobody was supposed to know.</p><p>"That Jaune's going to go to Beacon. He's going to expect you to be extra strong for him when you meet him again. So you have until then to train real hard." I actually have no idea if he's actually going to go to Beacon. For all we know, he could change his mind and go to one of the other academies. I'm also not sure whether or not she'll even think about him after that long. After all, It's only a silly crush she had for him...</p><p>Right?</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Yang's POV)</strong>
</p><p>Get strong...for him. Oh, it's giving me goosebumps! I want to get strong for him. I will be able to fight with him. To fight for him. He would always try to tell all the older kids that tried to hurt us to back off. They almost never listened. I remember one boy that went to Signal, he was being mean to me just because I accidentally stepped on his shoe. He even tried pulling my hair! It hurt really bad. But when I was going to try and yell, Jaune came in and snatched me from the meanie's hands. I had never felt like the way I did then. It was a weird feeling. Like when I get some of my favorite ice cream, but even better! And instead of being cold and painful if i have too much of it, it made me feel all warm inside. I wanted more of it. I always wanted to play with him whenever I could. It was just me, Jaune, and Ruby. Every time he smiled at me I got that same fuzzy feeling. So i thought about what made everybody laugh and remembered that Daddy would always tell the funniest jokes. They always made me laugh, so I knew that they would make him laugh. And I was right! He always laughed whenever I made a joke. Mommy doesn't seem to like them though. But Daddy does. Whenever I'm able to make him laugh, I get a candy! But, without Jaune, I feel so...lonely now. I miss his hugs, they always made me feel better when I was sad. But if we'll see each other again at Beacon, then we'll be...older. I think I overheard a boy from Signal say that guys like girls who are...'Hot' I think he said. When I looked up 'Hot Girls', I saw pictures of models in really pretty clothes. So if I want Jaune to like me when we're older, then I'm going to dress just like those women in those pictures.</p><p>"Alright, come on. We're here at the docks. We need to get on our Bullhead before we're late."</p><p>"Okay Daddy. But why do we have to move away from home?"</p><p>"Ah, well...It's not safe anymore."</p><p>"But those bad men are gone now. Jaune took care of them."</p><p>"I know my little dragon, but...you just have to trust me okay?"</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>"Now come on, who wants a piggy back ride?"</p><p>"Oh! Oh! Me! I want a piggy back ride!"</p><p>"Okay, come on. One. Two. Three! Up you go!"</p><p>"Yay! Come on Daddy! Let's go!"</p><p>"Careful Tai, you're going to throw out your back one day."</p><p>"As long as our little girl's happy, it'll be worth every second."</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Third Person POV)</strong>
</p><p>As the family made their way to the plane that Ozpin supplied them, Qrow was mulling over how the meeting with the Headmaster went.</p><p>
  <em>(Flashback)</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"This...is troubling." Ozpin said as he went over the details in his head. First the assassination attempt, then the child-which he will have to keep an eye out for-. and finally the two men that invaded the home. It would seem that the Queen was making her move. But he never expected her to make such a large one so soon. But what intrigued him more than anything else was this Jaune Noir that Qrow mentioned.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You said that Summer found Jaune within the Grimlands, correct? Are we sure that he wasn't one of the Queens Pawns?" Ozpin questioned. After all, it isn't every day that you would find a child by himself in the middle of a forest that just so happens to be the entrance to the Queens home. And with an untraceable background, he could just as easily be another spy sent to find out their secrets sent by Salem. But as he looked at Qrow, he saw a flash of guilt that he hadn't seen in years from the man. It was...it raised an eyebrow from the Headmaster.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No sir, he isn't another one of her subjects. I thought he was at the beginning as well, but over the months he lived with us, he proved to be a bright young boy. Summer told me that he wanted to be a Huntsman. Said he was planning to come here to Beacon." Qrow said, looking into the Headmasters eyes. Qrow didn't like talking about the kid much. Mostly because it reminded him on how he had neglected even the faintest possibility of Jaune just being a child that wanted to be a Huntsman. In a way, he reminded him of when he was a kid. Well, him if he wasn't a part of a marauding clan. He never even gave Jaune a chance. It was something inside of him telling him that he wanted to make things right, to try and make it up to the kid. But he hasn't had much time to do that, given the fact that he and his family were getting ready to move here to Vale. He had felt terrible ever since that day. He was contemplating taking a few days away from his family when he was called by Ozpin to come and give a report on what happened.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Are you sure about that Qrow? We both thought that Merlot could be trusted as well." Ozpin said, mentioning the scientist that had been one of the reasons that Mt. Glen had been taken by the Grim. Qrow winced at the memory. He had lost a lot of friends during the collapse of the place. But even more so at the memory of that madman. He had honestly thought that the man was okay. From what he gathered about him, he was just someone that had an affinity for science. But then he started with those 'experiments' of his. Then things went for a downward spiral. Ultimately resulting in the loss of so many lives.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"...This is nothing like that. I've spent a majority of those months monitoring his every movement, and he has shown no suspicious behaviors. If there was anything out of the ordinary about him, it would be his astounding strength and intelligence. He has the most strength I've seen from anyone. Even more than the other huntsman I've known. And his intelligence is beyond anything I've ever seen. He has photographic memory and has the thought process of a supercomputer. I'm telling you Oz, he could be a great asset to this fight." Qrow stated, raising the interest in this child even more for the Headmaster. He was quiet for a few seconds, thinking about what he would do. He thought that with strength and his strength alone, he'd be a force to be reckoned with. But if Qrow was right about him, then with that intelligence backing up that strength, he's be almost unstoppable. But that also brought up another problem.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"This strength...if he has as much as you say, It concerns me that he may not be able to hold back such power." Ozpin said, raising his concerns. Of course, Qrow could have been exaggerating Jaune's abilities, but he hasn't gotten this far without taking precautions. So he wanted to make sure that he took the worst case scenario instead of underestimating him and being caught off guard by Jaune. Qrow looked at him for a second before letting out a small chuckle.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Actually, that's the thing. Those months that I spent monitoring him were primarily training him to try and control his strength. Though Tai did most of the work. But I did try to teach him how to use a weapon. Along with Raven too actually. But uh, sorry about those bots. The day after the attack, we found them practically dismantled. The strangest thing, they were perfectly fine when we went to sleep. I don't know how it happened." Qrow said. Though he had an idea on how it happened, he wasn't sure. Ozpin took that information in and thought about it. If he had been trained by those three, then he must at least have some kid of technique. He was starting to sound more and more promising. Someone like that could be the kind of person that could end this battle between him and the Queen. The question was if he was willing to gamble that he would even agree. But as he went over the recent events, he realized his answer.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Alright. If he comes back and applies for Beacon, I will allow him to attend. Now go, I know you need to be there for your family. Send them my best wishes." Ozpin said as he dismissed the younger man. Qrow eyed him for a moment before transforming into a crow and flying out the window, leaving the Headmaster to his own devices.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt me."</em>
</p><hr/><p>He had been hoping that Ozpin would accept Jaune. He thought that if nothing else, he could give him a guaranteed spot in Beacon. Sure the battle was a factor in his thought process, but his primary concern was the kids schooling. It was concerning how much he had neglected to embrace before the attack. It was also a bit sad how it took a threat to his blood family to realize that Jaune was just as important to him as his daughter. So he has wanted to take some time to try and figure out who he is and who every one else is to him. But as stated before, he hasn't been able to get that much time to himself. But he's made due. Besides, his family needs him. So all of that can be put aside for now.</p><p>"Qrow, I know that you miss Jaune. I do too, but we have to respect his decision. I've already talked to Raven, we both decided that we'll wait for him to come back to us. Even if it takes ten years, it'll just be that much more exciting to see him again. So don't worry anymore." Summer said from her seat next to him. From the time it took to remember the meeting and his thoughts on the small boy, they had already entered their plane and found their seats. He nodded to her and let her rest her head on his shoulder. Ruby was in the other seat next to him, already asleep. He sighed and decided that he would think more on this predicament when they landed. So he slowly closed his eyes and drifted away to the land of dreams.</p><p>
  <em>'I hope you're right Summer. I really do.'</em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Unknown)</strong>
</p><p>As Hazel made his way into the throne room, he was nursing his arm. That kick from the small boy had dislocated his arm. He had been able to put it back well enough, but he could have sworn that he heard bone creek. But what really concerned him was how his master was going to take the news that not only did they fail their mission, but Tyrian had been terminated. So as he approached the door to the throne room, he had a small bit of a nervous sweat. Other than that though, he showed nothing that would tell he was nervous. He took one last breath before slowly opening the doors, seeing a fleeting image of a figure that looked to be a man that was white in color and some kind of outline. But when he blinked, they weren't there. He shook his head and decided to get this over with.</p><p>"Ma'am, I have returned from my mission." Hazel said, kneeling down and closing his eyes, keeping his head down. He heard nothing for a moment, but he stayed. He needed to keep her as calm as possible for this. Eventually, he heard the ruffling of her gown and knew that she was walking towards him. He stayed, waiting for the permission to stand.</p><p>"Hazel, rise." She said, and he obeyed, rising to his feet, but looking strait forward, not daring to look her in the face. None of them were allowed to look her in the eyes unless she said so. She looked at him, seeing the small scratches that littered his body. She especially noticed the bruising on his right arm. She then looked up to his still face before deciding to ask for his report.</p><p>"Report." She ordered. She didn't really like speaking much. It was mostly because she liked to be strait to the point and blunt. She saw no point in needless dawdle. Hazel hesitated for a small moment before answering.</p><p>"The mission was unsuccessful. The targets are still alive. Furthermore, Tyrian has been terminated by the same character that he has described. Said character was a small child. Blonde, blue eyes and of a strong stature. His speed surpassed what was expected along with his strength. He successfully dispatched of the parasite and Tyrian within the span of seconds. I was struck and sent into the forest. I managed to escape." Hazel said, telling his master what happened. He could now tell why Tyrian acted the way he did. That power he witnessed had honestly been terrifying.</p><p>"So it seems. Now, tell me Hazel. Why did you bother coming back?" She asked, starting to walk back to her throne. Hazel swallowed the lump in his throat before He answered her. He had to be careful here. How he answered here would determine if he lived or not.</p><p>"Mistress, this character is a major threat to our plans. I suspect that he was in the Grimlands trying to find your base of operations. I have seen first hand what he is capable of. If you will allow me, I would like to monitor him. I will make sure that he does not interfere with your plans." Hazel said, trying to make himself as useful as possible. She was about to respond, but suddenly turned her head to the side as if listening to someone. Then, after a few tense moments, she sighed and looked up at him</p><p>"Very well. Your new mission is to watch over this...child. Make sure that he does not interfere with our plans. And on your way, make sure to see to that other child...Fall was her name if I remember correctly. Now go." She ordered, and Hazel bowed before making his way toward the exit. He would live for another day it seems. Once he was out of the room, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad for the opportunity. Salem was sitting in her throne, mulling over the other meeting with someone that had a strange fascination with that very boy. She only agreed to work with them because they gave her even more power than she had before and they showed her exactly how powerful they were. Needless to say, she was completely confident that she would be able to see this world and that wizard grovel at her feet.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. New Journey, New Friend, New Enemy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a few weeks since Jaune ventured out on his own, and he has quickly learned that living on his own...is hard.</p><p>"Boy, I'm starving here. Maybe I should have stockpiled some food before i left." Jaune grumbled as he made his way down a forest path leading to...somewhere. After he left, he quickly made his way to the harbor and traded a good handful of gems that he may or may not have excavated on his own for some Lien. After that, he boarded the first ship to Anima. There was some questioning as to why an eight year old was traveling by himself, but then a nice little family decided to vouch for him, acting like he had gone ahead of them. The family was nice enough. It was a Faunus family, particularly of the Cat variety. The father was very intimidating. Actually resembled Hazel a good amount, but he dismissed the notion quickly. The man was a giant as well with a beard that was just downright <em>awesome</em>. It almost made him want to grow out one of his own. The mother was stunning in her own right. Those ebony cat ears with white fluff inside resting atop some medium length hair. She was obviously from somewhere sunny if the tan on her skin was anything to go by. Her amber eyes screamed of easygoing mischief with a whisper of protectiveness and love while also holding a firm voice of danger that held no faults. The daughter on the other hand...she was real pretty. She held the same eyes and ears of her mother if only a bit more of the childhood innocence that he'd seen in Ruby and Yang. The mother was the first to try and interact with him. The father, while a bit hesitant, went along with her after a glance at each other. The daughter looked at him in curiosity, as if looking for something on his body that wasn't there. After the situation was cleared up and he thanked them, the mother asked if he would like to join them. He thought about it for a few moments, but ultimately agreed, seeing no harm in it. He first introduced himself and got acquainted with them. They were all very welcoming to him. As he was to them. But he told them that he was going to a place just outside of the walls of Anima. The father spoke up and said that they were heading back to their home in Menagerie. After looking into it and it's history, he nodded in understanding. The rest of the trip was him getting along with the daughter that he now knew was named Blake.</p><p>Sadly, after only a few hours, the two groups had to part ways. He was still grateful to them and said that he would pay a visit to them when he had the chance. They said that he's be welcomed by them personally. So they parted ways and he got off the boat and into the continent of Anima.</p><p>There He was currently trying to get to one of the settlements that he had learned about when he conducted some research. Currently he was trying to make his way to a little village called Shion. From what he gathered, it was a quaint little settlement that is nestled somewhere within the continent of Anima. There, it's very calm, serene and very keen on living in tandem with the land around them. However, as beautiful and serene as it is, the real reason that he was going over there was because there was talk of someone who was once a revered Hunter. Known for their skill in hand-to-hand combat and control over Aura. The plan was to go there, get training, and then move on when he feels like he's hit another wall. What he didn't plan for was that he'd run out of Lien and food before he got to the damn place. Of course he's managed to scavenge some food from the bountiful and green forest around him, but his human body has needs greater than what the forest can provide, sadly enough. in his time traveling, he has come across a multitude of Grim that ranged from the simple Beowulf to the mighty Wrecker.</p><p>It would seem being this far out in the wilderness was dangerous. Who knew?</p><p>Of course, that <em>would</em> be if he wasn't...well, you know. A <em>literal god among men</em>. Just saying. But that aside, he's moved at a steady pace, and with a bit of a grimace, he moved forward with his wits about him.</p><p>'<em>Bleh, Note to self. Don't try to eat Grimm flesh again. They taste like burnt ash dipped in feces and vinegar with the texture of grainy mud.'</em> Jaune lamented in disgust as he was still trying to get the taste of his latest kill of a Beringal out of his mouth. Without much luck, he just looked ahead of himself and down the mostly empty path. It had been hours since he had began walking. Sure he could run to his destination, but saw no point in it. He was in no rush. He was still technically eight and had <em>nine</em> years until he had to apply for Beacon. Plus, it gave him time to practice more of his elemental bending skills. He was now able to create-or, rather gather air around him and control it to a good extent. Water was much the same, being able to create a steady stream of it. So far, all he's doing is trying to create and manipulate the element on a basic level. Metal is being a bit stubborn, but otherwise alright. Earth was the third easiest beside air and water. Lightning was more harder to control than to create. In fact, he could create tons of it, but it would grow unstable quickly if not given his full concentration. Fire...it was being quite...<em>'</em><em>Temperamental'. Eh? Eh?</em></p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>Shut up, he's clever.</p><p>Aside from that, he couldn't just create a single source of fire and concentrate it onto one source. If he did, it would suffocate itself and snuff out the flame. So he had to sort of make a constant line of fire that was continuously moving and never overlapped itself. He was going to have to put a hold on that. But Plasma? Simple enough. Just gather a bucket load of air, compress it, and then super heat it by causing friction within the space. Just do that enough, and make sure that <em>all</em> the heat is sealed tight within a tiny bubble for maximum effect, do that super quick, let that bastard cook for one second and <span><strong>BAM!</strong></span> You got Plasma. Of course, the process took about three to five seconds for him.</p><p>He's going to have to work on that <em>atrociously long</em> charging time.</p><p>But once it's created, the Plasma just multiplies on it's own. Keep it as it's Plasma ball to make it more dense and powerful or stretch it out to make more. So it was awesome enough. Gosh he loved the way his power worked. It just dawned on him how he took his powers for granted when he was still a full blown god. Speaking of which. Those two 'Brothers' that the stories talked about were...he and his father? It was hard to pinpoint how the story was so twisted that the tale of how man was created turned into some artistic film about dust, or Dust he presumed. Though, it would be a while before he would tell anyone about what really happened. And even then, he probably wouldn't correct it. Considering that the man, or God he supposed, was still alive and kicking. Another thing that he learned about was that there was a 'God above all'. At first he thought it was referring to his father, but after some extensive research, he found that wasn't the case.</p><p>It was quite surprising to find out that his father was only what would be considered a level 4 God. Though you could call it a fourth gen. Where he himself is a fifth gen. The tier system worked like this: There's him, a fifth gen God that can interact and be interacted with by what were considered mortals by physical means. Then there was the fourth gen God that could interact with mortals on a physical level while the mortals themselves could only interact with them through means of what is called magic. Here's where it gets tricky. There isn't much to gather with the rest of the higher tiered Gods, but what he could gather was that a tier three Gods could create and control a universe to their liking based on a set of laws that were fundamental and could only due so from a logical perspective. Even fewer sources gathered that the tier two Gods had the power to influence and even denounce the tier three Gods. Curious was the rather simplistic and strait forward information that came from the first tier God.</p><p>
  <strong>"He may act as he pleases. He may do as pleased. Yet as He does, the world shifts to His perspective. The fabrics of space contort to His will. And any and all who oppose His will is thusly cast away to make of himself a useless husk."</strong>
</p><p>It was actually much more complicated than he first thought, he supposed. But it could mean a number of things. First that came to mind about this Origin was that this God could change something within the very fabrics of what this and any other reality were and no one would bat an eye because literally everything would shift around the change to make it like it was always there. In fact, there could have possibly been a change just now and he didn't notice...</p><p>Moving on from those ominous thoughts, he looked ahead and caught sight of something, or rather <em>someone</em> down the path and heading in his direction. As they got closer, he was able to make out more and more of the persons attire.</p><p>They were a woman, firstly, and carried themselves not quite like a warrior, but someone striving to be one. Secondly, they wore a rather worn cloak that was a faded brown color. The pigments having obviously been worn away from weather and the hands of time. under this rough textured cloak was a simple garb of a white v-neck shirt and some black cargo pants, Her skin was smooth and quite young looking. Her tan speaking for itself in how much she must have traveled. Yet it was her eyes that spoke volumes of her character. They were a soft brown, yet held a firmness to them that had an almost magical glow to them. Her hair was of a chocolaty color, having come down to her shoulders and framing her face quite nicely. On her back was a hikers bad that seemed to only be filled with essentials if the emptiness was any evidence to go by.</p><p>As he approached, or rather, they approached each other, the woman seemed to finally notice him and was struck with both confusion and surprise. It was to be expected, not much went through these parts of the continent, and even fewer children on their own. And added to the fact that his clothes were in disarray was a clear sign that he had been in quite a few scuffles. She was soon over her own shock and was replaced with an apprehensive one instead. He went to greet her when she visibly flinched. He raised an eyebrow at her and tried again, actually using words instead of gestures.</p><p>"Hi there. I see you're traveling like i am. My name is Jaune Noir. What's your name?" He greeted casually, not at all knowing what might have made this woman so nervous around him. <em>'She might be a bit socially awkward.'</em> Jaune thought to himself as she came to a stop and seemed to squirm in place while taking glances around her vicinity. But he waited patiently. He had worked up a great amount of patience when he had lived with the Rose/Xiao-Long families. Though the thought of them made a spike of pain go through his heart when he thought about two certain aspiring Huntresses that had wormed themselves into his heart. He swallowed his own feelings for them and focused back onto the woman in front of him.</p><p>Said woman was now a small bit less awkward, and was actually able to get out a few words.</p><p>"...H-hello. M-my name is...Amber." Amber let out through pauses and stutters. He initially thought that it might have been the cause of a language barrier, but then analyzed her speech patterns and correlated them with jitters that one would have if something was bothering them. It wasn't anything to worry about then. Just anxiety settling in then. He took this instance to further the conversation he had for this woman.</p><p>"Hi Amber, where are you headed? I was just on my way to a place called Shion. You wouldn't happen to know it's location, would you?" He asked, not really knowing where he was heading. He just took this road hoping it would take him there. Was it practical? No. Was it stupid? Yes. But he had a feeling that something would happen if he took this path. And something did indeed happen. He met this young woman. From the looks of her, he could almost tell she was only a few years his senior. fifteen, maybe sixteen. He then patiently waited for her response after he made his own little observations. Her face contorted to that of familiarization, and he brightened up upon the sight. Maybe she did know the way!</p><p>That joy was soured however when he saw that not a second later did her face contort to one of sympathy. She scratched her cheek with a finger as she tried to find the words to tell him about what she knew.</p><p>"...Um...well...yes, i do know where it is...but...It's in the other...direction. I was heading there myself..." She spoke, feeling a small bit less awkward around the child. Jaune himself was beside himself with how much anger was flowing through his head at the moment. He was going in the opposite direction the ENTIRE TIME!? DAMN IT!</p><p>He held in his absolutely unyielding rage so that he could talk to this messenger that definitely didn't deserved to be shot.</p><p>…horrendously...</p><p>…and strait between the eyes...</p><p>…And with a fifty caliber sniper rifle...</p><p>…that had hollow rounds...</p><p>…and burnt to a crisp alongside everything they stood for...</p><p>Those thoughts aside, he couldn't let something so minor as something that would set him back weeks, maybe even <em>months</em> back make him spite a woman that didn't know his plight and obviously felt sorry. So he took a deep breath and calmed his mind. After all, it wouldn't due either of them good if he exploded at something as minor as that.</p><p>It just wasn't polite.</p><p>"Ah, well, that is troubling. I've been traveling this way for a few weeks. Three to be exact. But, um, my rations have been running low...in fact, i actually went through them already..." Jaune trailed off, looking to the side and scratching his cheek. Just then, his stomach rumbled it's loudest yet and he was wracked with an incredible hunger pang. He was almost brought to his knees with how weak he had become. Amber had rushed to his side in worry, looking over his form to make sure there wasn't any other injury to his person. She then proceeded to bring around her bag and fish out a container that held a sort of brownish meat with chunks of white in there. It only took Jaune a few moments before he realized what was shoved into his mouth. It was Hash. made with diced meat and potatoes. A simple dish, if slightly lacking. But right now? <span><strong>FUCKING <em>HEAVEN!</em>!</strong></span></p><p>After finishing what was given to him, Jaune let out a satisfied breath. That was just what he needed. He was even calmer for it too. Maybe the extended lapse of food deprivation was what made him so moody. In any case, he was eternally thankful for the woman that saved him from having to resort to eating the actual plants that the berries grew off of. But even that would have been lack luster as well. And if he was going the wrong way anyway, then who knows how long he would have been traveling? Or even how much longer he would even survive? But he digresses, this woman was someone that he had to thank profusely.</p><p>"Thank you so much. I didn't think that my hunger would get that bad. I don't know how to pay you back." Jaune stated, sitting up against a tree on the side of the road. She had joined him as well and was now eating some more hash herself. She shook her head at him and gave a small smile.</p><p>"It's no problem. I wouldn't feel right if i let a kid starve. Speaking of which, why are you out here? And, if it's not intruding, can i ask if you have any parents?" Amber asked tentatively. She didn't want to pry too much, considering she herself was...keeping a few secrets herself. And <em>technically</em>, she wasn't supposed to travel with anyone. But come on, this was merely a child. Nothing was dangerous about him, right?</p><p>Jaune gave a smile in return and shrugged his shoulders. They were reasonable questions as were most others. And he reasoned that the reasonable question deserved a reasonable answer. Or, an honest answer. The definition of reasonable was very malleable.</p><p>"To answer your questions in order, I was trying to get to Shion. But I guess you could say I was turned around." Jaune said, letting out a small chuckle. He looked out into the sky. It was starting to grey as a storm was going to settle in. But he let out a sigh as he thought about her second question. It was easy for him to call Summer his mother along with Raven. And mirrored to that was Tai and Qrow as his father...-s. It would be confusing to say the lease if they were to ever get together-together. That thought alone had heat travel to his cheeks and warmth to travel to his heart. But that feeling soured when he remembered how and why he left. Having to stay away from two people he genuinely had feelings for pained him beyond imagination. But as long as he could keep them safe from harm, he would do anything for them. But bringing himself back to the conversation to answer her other question, he looked into her brown eyes. "And I do indeed have parents. They are currently...staying safe. I decided to leave so that I could better myself. In a way, you could say that I'm going on a 'spiritual trip of enlightenment'." Jaune said, finding that he was indeed going on a 'walk of life' as it would be. And this could be considered a very <em>'enthusiastic' </em>walk.</p><p>Amber saw the ranging emotions spread across his face and decided to not pry any further. But instead, she decided to shift the subject back to Shion.</p><p>"So, you're heading to Shion...and I'm heading to Shion...what say we head there together? That way, the trip won't be so boring. But let's head back down the road over there. I just came from a small village that has a couple supplies. There, we can resupply, get you better suited and even get you better clothes." Amber proposed, figuring that they weren't <em>technically</em> traveling together, but rather just so happen to travel in the same direction and heading to the same destination. And if they so happen to camp together or share supplies together, then that would just be from one traveler to another. So she wasn't breaking the rules. She was still following them!</p><p>Jaune looked to her, thinking about the kind metaphorical-and literal- hand held put to him and appreciated the gesture. So he decided to take it. Amber helped him to his feet and they walked further down the path and soon came across the settlement that she talked about.</p><p>Throughout the time traveling, she opened up to him a bit more. Got more comfortable around each other. Jaune himself felt a familiar connection to her that he felt with the adults of the Rose/Xiao-Long family. But it was something a bit closer and a bit more open. Not quite like a mother, or like an aunt. Something closer. Like...like a sister. He could be more playful with her. Be more open and not feel this pressure to always be so respectful to her. But that's not to say that the was a complete douche to her. More of he was acting like a close friend. On the way to Shion, they eventually got to the subject of their powers, or more of how they were able to be out here in the more dangerous parts to the continent.</p><p>"Actually, I was given training in how to take protect myself and others from my parents. I'm trying to be a Hunter, you see. They said that I would be able to make a real difference in the world. I believed them, of course. And I still do. But it's...it's still so far away from me that I doubt I'd be able to do just that. But, if only to prove myself wrong, i'll try my best." Jaune said with a fire in his eyes. He's got a very long road ahead of him if he wants to have a glimmer of a chance of defeating his father. But if that was what it was going to take, he'd take off running. And on that note, he swatted away the last of the Beowulf and their pack. Amber herself took her spear and jabbed it through it's skull. The corpse fading away quickly. Amber swirled it around before compacting it into a dagger and placing it in a sheath that was strapped to her side. The spear itself was simple in design. The pole was gold in color with no other designs. The spearhead was a sort of sharpened crystal. light blue in color, but seemed to glimmer the color of the rainbow when caught in the sunlight. They calmed down from the relatively short fight and went to make sure that their stuff was unharmed. There was a small tear in Jaune's shirt, but it only took his sleeve. And even then, it was due to the sheer force of the punch he threw at the Alpha that had been able to sneak up on Amber. He killed it before it layed so much as a claw on her. That was when she asked him where he got that strength. He took a moment to look at the damaged shirt. It was the shirt that Summer had sewn herself and gifted to him. It was supposed to be worn as casual wear, but he didn't take anything else with him when he left. So that fault was on his part. But thankfully, while he had run out of food, that was only because he didn't have anyone to buy it from. He still had money, just nothing to spend it on. In fact, if he counted right, then he had about...fifty, eighty Lien. between the two. He would have much more, but it would seem <em>very</em> suspicious if a child arrived at a bank with valuable gems and no parents to speak of. He had gems to spare, mostly because he used a sort of...pocket dimension? It was strange. If he willed something to be stored into it, then it would disappear into it and the opposite would happen as well if he wanted it to. It was how he was able to take the components in those training robots that he used when he lived with Ruby and Yang. The way they were able to repair themselves as if they were never damaged in the first place was astounding. So he decided to learn what made them tick. Simply put: nano machines. their bodies were entirely composed of nano machines. But the only drawback was that they were susceptible to E.M.P's or any electrical based attacks. Along with the long list of other element based attacks. That's why not many weapons were made with them. That, and they could only do what they were programmed to do. It left no room for flexibility or improvement. And the ability to maneuver with the battle and adapt to a fight was what decided if a Hunter lived or died. So needless to say, they were used mostly for training drones. And yet...he could see the potential for it. the amount of programming and reinforcing he'd have to do would be arbitrary compared to the payout if he did it right. But for now, he only had a simple Long Sword and Kite Shield. They were already starting to show weathering though as they were not meant to be swung as hard as he was swinging them. But they still got the job done. He didn't have any special preference to weapons, but he figured that an armory wouldn't be a problem with how he wanted to utilize the nano machines.</p><p>But those were thoughts that would be for another time. He actually wanted to know more about Amber. She told him that she was on a similar 'walk of life' and that she was training to be a protector of the world. But said that she didn't want to be tied down by some title as Huntress, which was reasonable he supposed. But he still insisted that she at least consider it. She playfully challenged him to make her. That was the end of that conversation, but he would convince her one way or another.</p><p>
  <strong>(Time Skip Brought To You By A Chibi Amber And Jaune Happily Walking Down The Dirt Path)</strong>
</p><p>"I'm just saying, being a Hunter would give you so many opportunities that would be awesome for you. Or anyone that had them for that matter." Jaune argued, looking at her to his side. She scoffed at him and gave him a look of her own. She had become much more open to him the longer they talked. But she wouldn't tell him what her powers were. Which was fair. They only met about a few days ago. She actually kind of froze when he asked. So he figured that it must have been a personal matter. He let it go and they went on their way. The subject of family came up and he told her his own fabricated backstory before telling her of his time with the Rose/Xiao-Long families. At that, she said that she had heard of Summer, Qrow, Raven and Taiyang. They were Legends among the Huntsman of their generation. They she shared that she was an only child of a single father. He knew that something like this was a tender matter, and decided to change the subject again. He took the safe rout and tried to talk about the pros of being a Hunter. She seemed to be appreciative of the change of subject and went along with it.</p><p>"Yeah, but that also means that you have to listen to the Council. Not exactly the best of groups." Amber said with a roll of her eyes. That was another subject that they had talked about. The Council. He had learned of them from Qrow and Raven mostly. And they weren't too keen on listening to them either. Summer didn't like talking about them and Tai just ignored the subject all together. He had learned that people of power were prone to some...corrupt tendencies. He also realized that they were only allowed their positions because they were very 'influential'. In other words, they had money. And lots of it. It left a bad taste in his mouth that people like that were allowed to go about freely with whatever they wanted to do. Even more so when he remembered that this is what happened in his absence after he created them. For as much progress they made on their own, the nipping fangs of corruption seemed to be on their heels. But they had been in a negative mood long enough. And that, he wanted to lift their spirits.</p><p>"Yeah yeah, but you can't deny the appeal. Being looked up to by hundreds of children. The respect of all your peers. Their trust and maybe even your...significant other." Jaune said, giving his own perspective on the life of a Hunter. Of course, he knows the dangers and the need to deal justice, and that was what he believed what a Huntsman is. But the romanticized version is also hard to ignore. And on that subject, Amber couldn't help but look at him in confusion.</p><p>"Why do you keep talking about 'significant others' and stuff. You're <em>way</em> too young to be talking about that kind of thing." Amber stated, not knowing how he could be so fond of the idea. She figured that children his age would think of girls as gross and that they had 'cooties' or whatever.</p><p>"Well, truth be told, I want to find one for myself one of these days. And I'm almost certain that I've found them already." Jaune stated, thinking about Yang and Ruby as he spoke. He was almost certain that he would marry one of the two. But there was a problem with that. That would entail that he had to chose between one of the two. And that was what pained him so. His heart was strewn between the two evenly. To choose one would leave half of his heart to wither and die. From there he would have two options. Either let them both go and make sure that they both stay happy at the expense of his own happiness, or try to marry them both. It was legal in this world apparently. As long as all of the involved party consents, they could be married to more than one person. But the problem with that is the fact that he's not sure that they both like him, or even if either of them like him at all! And on top of that, if they were willing to share him with each other or if he chose one of them, having their relationship with each other ruined because of him. There were a lot more factors that could hinder that train of logic, but he'd worry about that when he got to it. Now was peace time.</p><p>"You're a weird one, you know that, Jaune?" Amber said, looking down at him with an amused smirk on her lips. She would admit, Jaune was amusing. And he was strong. Undoubtedly so. He'd shown it when they were fighting. She could tell that he had extensive training in not only sword proficiency, but in hand to hand as well. And on top of that, she could tell he was holding back his strength. She wondered how strong he really was, but thought that if he could obliterate a Wrecker with ease, then she should be glad she doesn't know what it looks like. On the subject of strength, there was the fact that she was the-</p><p>"GET DOWN!"</p><p>The sight of a Grimm insect flying at her face was all she saw before all went dark.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Luxure, Fierte, Cupidite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were no words that could have been clearer in Amber's ears than when Jaune shouted to get down. So with a suddenness that even she was surprised by, she ducked sown to the ground and rolled to the side, barely having a...<em>whatever</em> the hell kind of insect that was aimed for her head to miss. It had only went just past where her face would have been before being retracted to where it came from. She turned around to see who just tried to assassinate her before she was met with a glass sword heading for her torso. Her eyes widened as she reached for her spear, Barely bringing it out of it's sheath when the offending weapon was already a few inches away from contact. She went to use her Maiden powers, but was stopped by a gust of wind that knocked both her and the offender away. Luckily, she was able to keep a grip on her own weapon. Unluckily, she had hit a pretty sturdy tree, and was kind of disorientated. She knew that whatever was happening was obviously an attack at her specifically, and that if they targeted her instead of Jaune who would look weaker upon first glance since he was a child. And speaking of which, She should probably find out what happened to him. It's not like he was going to be <em>killed</em> or anything. That much she was sure of. But it she was sure that if they teamed up, then whoever was stupid enough to attack them would be sent packing...or be sent to the morgue. If they knew about the Maiden powers, then obviously, they were out to kill her. But of course, that would all be speculation. She didn't <em>know</em> that they were trying to kill her for her powers. They could just be a few bandits that were looking for an easy loot. Or Oum forbid, an easy...<em>'score'</em>. Bleh, even the thought of it made her want to vomit.</p><p>"Amber, are you okay?" Jaune's voice asked, breaking through her haze. She looked up at him and noticed that he was looking at her with worried eyes. It was an adorable trait that he had. Like a little sibling really...hum, that was a thought. Probably not one she should be entertaining right now due to the circumstances, but one that couldn't leave her alone. Throughout their time traveling along this dirt path, She had grown to really like Jaune. But not in a romantic sense mind you. I mean, come on, she was already going to be eighteen and he was only eight himself. That was just wrong. But it was more of a paternal affection. One that she felt for her father as well. She hasn't seen him in well over five years, that much was certain, but she still remembers him vividly. He was a shoemaker. Not the most flattering job out there, yeah, but he was good at what he did. He's most often hired by Hunters to make their combat boots. His prices were fair, He made good, quality shoes and he was happy where he was with both her and her mother.</p><p>Her mother...she doesn't know much about her. Other than what she looked like from old photos and a few letters she wrote from her Hunter missions. Though, one day, Her mother left the house, and never came back. She didn't understand that It was common for Hunters to die on missions back then, but she lost her all the same. And the next day, there was a sort of wisp of energy that flew into her when she was outside playing. It was so foreign to her that she didn't know what to do with herself when it happened, but at the same time, It felt strangely...familiar, somehow. It just <em>felt</em> like her mother was somehow connected to whatever power was bestowed upon her. It wasn't until a few weeks later that Ozpin and his group came around and told her that she had inherited the Fall Maiden's powers. She as told that her mother had been the previous Maiden, and she was one of four. She was also told of the tale of the four seasons. But by this time, she had already tested out what these powers could do. She was...actually awed by it. She had the power to help people. The power to find the people that attacked her mother and avenge her. That was her initial thought of course. But when she was told the full extent of what a Maiden was and what they could do, She became much more down to Remnant. It was also on that day that her childhood was ruined.</p><p>She was whisked away from her home village to train her new powers. She was also told that she would most likely never see her father again. She was heartbroken. She wanted to protest, she wanted to fight for it...but after a few days, she realized that if she stayed with him, then there was the possibility of Salem and her cohorts coming after her. So she agreed to keep whatever family she had left safe. She was assured that her father would be put under protection. So even if she could never see her father again, she would at least know that she was fighting to protect her family. Speaking of which, there was something about Jaune that was like family to her. Maybe it was the years without someone to really connect with, or maybe even the fact that he was one of the only people outside of Ozpin's group that cared about her and treated her like a normal girl. Even then though, some of Ozpin's members are a bit cynical about everything. Like if she'll turn on them and work for the Queen and all that. And while she does not hold the greatest opinion of the Council or it's many questionable decisions, she would put everything on the line to protect what she holds dear. And one of things right now, was Jaune.</p><p>So as she took his outstretched hands, she quickly extended her dagger into it's spear form, ready to defend against whatever attacked her and Jaune. Jaune himself had pressed his back into hers, scoping the area around them, the previous caring look he gave Amber was replaced with a stone cold, analytical glare. That was something that Raven and Qrow taught him. Always be vigilant whenever you are in a fight. Always treat each fight as if they were life or death. You never know if your enemy has something hiding up their sleeve. So the best option is to take out the enemy as quick and efficient as possible. Never know if there are going to be more hostiles on the way. Their training was mostly along those lines when it came to a combat mindset: Always be prepared for war. It was something that he didn't like knowing. That the world as it was now, was very tense and that if there was a big enough event from one of the Kingdoms, there was a high probability that war would break out. He wanted to try and change that. That was the other thing that he wanted to do as he traveled the world. See what was wrong and to observe what the people wanted so that when he finally tries to insert himself as an activist in civil rights for everyone, he'd be taking a foot in the right direction. But for now, he'd have to hold off on that. Right now was the battle between them and whoever tried to kill Amber. That in and of itself was making his blood boil. Nobody hurts his friends and gets away with it. No one.</p><p>"Jaune, I don't know what's happening, but could you fill me in?" Amber asked as she also scoped the area. All she knew was that something was going to do <em>something</em> to her and that Jaune had been able to warn her about in time to dodge. Then someone had tried to gut her when she tried grabbing her own weapon. And again, Jaune had probably done something to cast her and the other person to the side and saver her once more. She truly was grateful of Jaune. Who knows what could have happened if she hadn't had him with her when this happened...</p><p>"Three bogies, one male, two females. One of the females seems to be in her early twenties, the other two in their late teens." Jaune explained, looking around to make sure that none of the assailants came back from the gale of wind that he produced. He was able to make some real progress in controlling the elements. Where as before he could only control them to the extent of making a small breeze, a trickle of water, a decent ball of plasma, some small tremors along with great spires of earth to do as he wishes and a small amount of fire, he could now make nearly a lakes amount of water with some difficulty, a gale strong enough to uproot trees, an onslaught of scorching hot plasma, bend the earth itself to his will, and fire...well, as there was still that problem of keeping it in the same place would suffocate itsel-...oh son of a...<em>biscuit.</em> He just realized that the problem wasn't that Fire wouldn't allow itself to be controlled, but the fact that he was trying to control it in the first place was the problem. He just needs it to go freely and feed it more and more oxygen to become stronger. He just needs to give it a general mold to follow. It was so simple that he wanted to slap himself for not realizing it sooner. But one of his most useful moves in his arsenal is the ability to stop time itself. Where before, he could only stop time for a brief second before everything would start to slowly go back to normal, he could now stop time for a whole ten seconds in real time. There were some interesting things about stopping time though. Where he could move freely however he wants, and there shouldn't be anything else that should be in the little fold of time he can make for himself, there was one other presence that he could sense was also moving. It was almost concerning. Who else in this world would be able to control time to such a degree? Questions, questions, questions...</p><p>"What the hell just hit me? A god damn freight train!?"</p><p>Oh yeah, those guys were a thing. Nearly forgot about them for a second. But then again, those three did seem to be after Amber for some reason...might be because of something with her family or something. He doesn't really know. But still, the fact that they tried to kill her was still unforgivable.</p><p>So as he faced them, he analyzed each of their persons to see what he was dealing with. The obvious leader of the trio, if her age was anything to go by, had raven black hair that went down to her waist. She wore some rather provocative clothing consisting of nothing but a crimson dress that had some intricate designs running along it. He could tell that they were used for some thing to boost her fighting prowess. Her eyes were of a dangerous shade of yellow, telling of how much hatred lied behind them. She made his very being light up with anger. She has killed. And she has done so many things that he could tell were used in so many hellish plans. He could sense that she wanted to take something that was dear to him. And the scary part is that deep down inside, he knows that somewhere along the line...</p><p>She'll succeed.</p><p>"So, you are the child we were told about. How interesting. Hazel has told us quite a bit about you. That we shouldn't take you lightly. Though, if you try to get in the way of our plans, then I suppose you'll be another enemy to crush in our wake." The older woman said coyly. Jaune narrowed his eyes at her. She was part of Hazel's group huh? Then That meant that she was here for him too. And because of that, Amber was a target too...</p><p><em>'Damn it! I keep getting people into trouble! Am I really that much of a nuisance?'</em> Jaune thought to himself, balling his fists. He looked to Amber and saw that she was confused as to how they might have known him. He frowned and looked away. He hoped that he wouldn't cause her any trouble for the short amount of time that he spent with her. Yet this woman and her cohorts decided to destroy that hope and set it ablaze. He looked to the three with hard eyes. A fire in his heart set anew as his fighting spirit was rekindled.</p><p><em>'Fine then. If life is going to try and destroy what I love, then I'm just going to have to be strong enough to stop that from happening! I will stop at nothing to make sure that whatever or whoever tries to kill me or the ones I hold dear are dealt with!'</em> Jaune thought resolutely. A certain fire building up within him. His determination manifesting itself into a green blaze from his chest, engulfing-but not burning-his shirt in a coat of transparent green fire. It's Opaque only being strong enough to show it's primary color, but nothing else.</p><p>Yet despite this, Amber looked shocked at this revelation. That energy...It looked like a Maiden's Energy! But that was impossible, He'd have to be a woman, for one. for another, he's just a kid. There's no way that he would have been able to kill someone...but, he was unnaturally strong...and it was strange that he was the only one that she had encountered while traveling...was he...was he out to get her too? What would even happen if a person with Maiden powers were to kill another? The thought alone frightened her and she started to back away from him before he suddenly made a declaration.</p><p>"I will not allow you to take what I love away from me! You may have come close last time, but I will not allow you to do so again! I don't know why you're so persistent on following me, but I will do everything in my power to protect what's Important to me!" Jaune bellowed, His Aura and flames thrashing wildly.</p><p>Cinder's smirk faded from her face immediately upon seeing those green flames. This wasn't in the mission files. All Hazel informed her of was his immense speed and strength. There were ways of getting around that. Which was why Emerald was here. To cast an illusion on him and be able to back stab him while he was distracted. Then they would be able to take down the Fall maiden with ease. But this was not something that they were anticipating. And Cinder absolutely <em><strong>hated</strong></em> when things don't go the way she planned. So she did the only thing she could do...fight.</p><p>"Emerald, 'distract' him. Mercury, on the Maiden. The child is mine." Cinder ordered, not looking away at a now riled up Jaune. Emerald nodded before her eyes glowed, her Aura flaring up, indicating the use of her Semblance. Mercury bolted towards Amber. Cinder thought that while the unexpected outburst was troublesome, was not going to change the fact that she would get what she rightfully deserved. She fully expected Jaune to be tricked by Emeralds Semblance. No other has been before, so this wouldn't be any different. Emerald would make him think that Cinder was flipping over him to catch him off guard and try to turn around to combat her, giving her a chance to drive one of her glass swords into his back, through his heart and out his chest. What she didn't expect was Jaune looking strait into her eyes with a fury that rivaled some of the best. She quickly had to jump back from a punch that sent a compressed wave of air in her direction. She effectively dodged it, but realized that the attack was now heading towards a now stunned Emerald.</p><p>Emerald herself was reeling from the fact that Jaune had seemingly been unaffected by her Semblance. She was so shocked in fact, that she didn't notice that Jaune's attack was heading towards her. When it impacted her, a noticeable indent was shown in her gut. Her eyes widened, and she coughed up some spittle and vomit before she was thrown back twenty feet.</p><p>Jaune looked from the collapsed form of Emerald to a now scowling Cinder. The green flames on his body still flickering about. He stared at her for merely a moment before turning around and practically teleporting in front of Mercury as he was about to deliver a thrust kick to a still shocked Amber. Jaune then grabbed the offending leg and started swinging him around.</p><p>"Woah! Put! Me! Down! Right! Now! Or! I'm! Gonna! Hurp!" Mercury tried to threaten before he felt his lunch try to come up. He was starting to look a bit green when Jaune tossed him to a barely recuperating Emerald, causing both of them to be put out of commission. He then stepped forward and gave a fierce stare towards Cinder.</p><p>Cinder was annoyed that her two lackeys couldn't do their jobs, and was positively infuriated that a mere child was the one to take them down. But nothing compared to the amount of fear that she felt knowing that if she returned to Salem empty handed, then she would be punished to the highest severity. So she really only had two options here, either retreat with nothing and face the consequences, or stay, fight and have a chance at attaining what she has sought after for so long.</p><p>To her the choice was obvious.</p><p>So with a call of her Aura, and the application of her Semblance, she created a bow and drew forth a glass arrow. Quickly taking aim, she fired, smirking to herself as her arrows were able to bypass any and all aura, regardless of the size.</p><p>Jaune stepped forward and made a pushing gesture with his right hand, which drew forth a spike of earth from the ground, destroying the arrow in the process. Once again, Cinder and Amber were shocked. At first, they thought that the boy's Semblance was Pyrokinesis, or that he had somehow gotten a hold of one of the Maiden's powers. Now he could control earth? Now either he had more than one Maiden power, or his Semblance was to control the Elements. Either way, things were going south fast. But nothing was going to stop her from fulfilling her mission. It didn't even matter if she died here, she would rather be killed than go back to her master empty handed.</p><p>"Damn brat, you don't know when to quit, do you?" Cinder spat out. Jaune simply started walking towards her with his hair shadowing his eyes. The flames slowly spreading to the rest of his body. Cinder, not wasting an opportunity, started throwing more arrows in his direction, but each one broke against his skin. And the ones that Cinder tried to fire at Amber were caught and crushed within his hands.</p><p>Cinder was backpedaling now, walking backwards while firing arrow after arrow at the boy. Not a single scratch on his body was seen. She got to a point where her heel touched upon the downed forms of her lackeys. She cursed under her breath before dissipating her bow to create two glass blades. Jaune was now half way between her and Amber, who by now had recuperated and was watching the scene in front of her with eyes full of wonder. Jaune had stopped group of people that tried to assassinate her by himself and was now walking towards the head of the trio without fear. She felt that by now, Jaune had done enough for her, and was now determined to take the woman down herself.</p><p>Jaune was now gathering air into his palm, condensing it and started to heat it up into plasma when he felt a presence beside him. he turned his head to see Amber looking at him with hardened eyes. He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. The plasma in his palms dissipating and the flames surrounding him receded into his form. Amber smiled in thanks before facing Cinder, who was almost shaking in anger. It was then that Amber's own power rose from her skin, covering her in an orange aura. Jaune looked to her with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>"I assume you'll tell me what that is when this is over?" Jaune asked as he crossed his arms. Amber gave him a quick glance before turning her attention to the still Cinder.</p><p>"I will if you tell me what you were using back there." Amber responded, referencing the green flames and the earth bending he did with his skirmish with Cinder. Jaune nodded as he closed his eyes. He supposed that he would have to tell someone eventually. And if spending time with Amber has told him anything, she can certainly hold a secret if she has to. And her as a character was very nice to be around. She was kind, funny, and although was very sensitive when it came to her family, was very strong willed. He would gladly call her his sister. And as family, there shouldn't be any secrets between them.</p><p>He thought about Ruby, Yang, Summer, Tai, Raven and even Qrow and promised to himself that the next time he sees them is when he'll tell them of his actual past and history. But for now, he'd have to stand back and see how Amber's powers were in combat.</p><p>Amber then took the initiative and charged, the spear head of her weapon glowing with the same energy that she was emitting. She started with a thrust of her spear, forcing the wanna-be Maiden to jump back. From there, Amber took notice of the still downed forms of Emerald and Mercury, and picked them up with one had before making a full circle turn and chucking them in Cinder's direction. Cinder had to drop her swords in able to effectively bat them away without killing them. Though she would have like to seeing as how they couldn't do one thing right. She still needed them alive. With how well trained Mercury was and how useful Emerald's Semblance would be, they were quintessential to her plans in the long run. So she swatted them to the ground with little effort on her part. Though, the two lackeys groaned in an almost comical matter on their part. But back to the battle, Cinder looked up to see that Amber had closed in on her while she was distracted and was barely able to create another pair of blades before Amber brought down her spear, making a small crater beneath the two.</p><p>They glared into each others eyes, one filled with confidence and the others filled with anger and fear. When Cinder was about to try and push back against the spear, Amber suddenly retracted it into it's dagger form, making Cinder stumble. This gave Amber the opportunity to blast her with a beam concentrated from her gem-like blade and send her sprawling across the dirt path. When cinder was able to recuperate herself, she found that Amber was already on top of her again, ready to finish the fight. That was, until Cinder shot out her hand.</p><p>In a desperate and frantic move, Cinder opted to try and send the Grim parasite on Amber once more to try and eliminate her altogether. However, what she had forgotten while being pummeled by the Fall Maiden, was that Amber was not alone.</p><p>"That's about enough of that." Jaune said, suddenly appearing between the two. He then grabbed the insect, crushed it between his hands and made a gale of wind between the two women. When they both separated, Jaune brought his hand up to inspect what was left of the insect. He could only imagine what those things could do if they were to ever do what they were intended to do. But, he was determined to make sure that it never happened. He didn't even want to try and experiment with them. He would never need them in the long run, and he's already got the nano-machines to worry about, not to mention his own powers to train back to full strength. So he shook his hand to get rid of the black liquid that was quickly dissolving. He then looked to Cinder before speaking.</p><p>"Amber, as much as I know you are capable of handling yourself, and that you were going to burn that insect alive before I stepped in, there is a pressing matter that needs to be taken care of." Jaune said cryptically, a serious expression on his face. Amber looked confused. Was that sweat building up on his brow? this morning was actually fairly chilly, and he hasn't exerted himself all that much today, other than fighting these guys. But even then, that shouldn't have tuckered him out at all. But he did seem tense. So it might have been a cold sweat. However, Amber couldn't understand what might have made him so nervous in the first place.</p><p>"Jaune, what are you talking about? We've got this in the bag. All we have to do is finish her off before she can get away." Amber said coldly, glaring daggers at the disheveled and angry Cinder. She looked to Jaune for an answer, all she saw was his side profile. His eyes were focused and his mouth set in a deep frown, yet his body almost shook in...fear? That was what set Amber on edge. What could have caused Jaune of all people to start shaking in fear? It was at this thought that Jaune decided to respond to her.</p><p>"I'm afraid it isn't that simple anymore." Jaune said in a grim voice. Looking beyond Cinder and at something that was behind her. He could sense someone was there, but they were concealing themselves. But now that person wasn't what he was focusing on, instead, he looked above and noticed someone, or...some<em>thing</em>.</p><p>"That would be right. I can't have you killing off the entertainment just yet." Said a new voice that caught Amber off guard. she also looked up to see...</p><p>"Father." Jaune said, revealing the floating figure to be no one but Dux Omnium!</p><p>His arms were crossed as he descended from the air onto the ground. Cinder turned around and was shocked to see such a thing to appear, and was going to rais her blades to him, but was promptly stopped when her swords disintegrated into nothingness. She also noticed that she couldn't move her body at all. Omnium turned his head in her direction and to the unconscious forms of her subordinates, he sighed and brought up his hand, snapped, and each of them were teleported to his "feet". There was another moment and the duo started getting up with no bruises or scratches on their forms whatsoever. Jaune furrowed his eyebrows at this and clenched his fists.</p><p>"No need to be so hostile. I have not come here to fight any of you. Though it was amusing to see you peons piddle with each other, I have more important matters to attend to. Such as protecting the followers of the "Queen". Though they seem to be severely lacking when it comes to combat skills." Omnium stated as he turned his head from the trio of baddies and to Jaune, who was still staring at him in anger. He was going to say something snarky, but stopped when he noticed that Amber was walking up next to Jaune. It was then that he started chuckling before blowing onto full blown boisterous laughter. It sounded weird though. as if his voice was coming from every angle possible. His laughter died down after a few moments and looked to the two in amusement.</p><p>"Well then, It would seem my little boy has already made a new friend. Oh they grow up so fast." Omnium stated, with the last bit dripping with sarcasm. Jaune clenched his jaw tight and tightened his fist more. Amber looked between the two and was confused about all this. Jaune said that his father had died along with the rest of his village. So what was this being of pure energy doing calling itself his dad? There had to have been something that Jaune didn't tell her or was lying to her about.</p><p>"Father...what do you want this time? I never expected you to show up again so soon." Jaune said, not knowing what the hell he was talking about with the whole "Queen" business. But he thought that prying for more info wouldn't hurt. Besides, he was genuinely curious and concerned about what his father wanted from him and Amber. Dux tilted his head and stayed there for a moment before answering.</p><p>"Well, to be frank, I never did intend on coming down here, but then a little witch caught my eye. She had a very dormant power within her that resembled our own. And wouldn't you know it? She was made from the residue of our God energy." Omnium explained, shocking Jaune and severely confusing Amber. Jaune stood there, thinking about how that could have happened. The only way that could have happened, was if...</p><p>"I know what you're thinking, and...yes, It was indeed when you were plummeting towards this ball you call a planet. Fragments of you...or, of your divine energy splintered off and landed all across the globe. however, Even I am unaware of where they are. They have somehow hidden themselves away from my grasp. I must commend you for that though, even when at your weakest, you were still able to piss me off." Omnium said with a grimace at the end before pointing a finger at Jaune. In an instant, a hole appeared within Jaune's chest where his heart would be. There was no beam of energy or any trace of movement from Omnium. It was simply that he wished it to happen.</p><p>Jaune stood there with wide eyes. He tried to choke out something, anything, but was unable to. Amber was quick enough to catch him as he fell backwards. Blood was seeping out of the hole, quickly making a pool of his own blood beneath him. Amber was clamoring to see if she could help him in any way. To maybe save him from dying. But at this point he had already lost most of his blood. His eyes were starting to lose their life now, not even being able to breath now.</p><p><em>'No. Is this how I die? Not even a year into this life? Damn It! I needed to protect them!...but, I couldn't. All because I was too weak.'</em> Jaune thought to to feel his life leave him. The sounds of Amber's voice fading from his ears as his senses were starting to fail. He let out his last breath before leaving this world and into the next...</p><p>"Oh, stop the waterworks, like I'd end it here and now. Not when I've already invested in this plan of mine." Omnium suddenly said, waving a hand and suddenly closing Jaune's wound and restoring his blood.</p><p>Jaune woke with a start and gasped for air. Amber looked relieved beyond comprehension. She may have been clueless as to what the <strong><em>fuck</em></strong> was going on, but she would be damned if she let a small boy die on her watch. Jaune was still in shock from what just happened and was not at all prepared for what happened earlier. That could have been It. His father could have just let him die like that and destroyed the planet afterwards. This was...concerning on a number of levels. If they could do that, what was stopping him from doing the same to the planet out right? Why was he so keen on making this so needlessly complicated.</p><p>"Why?" Jaune choked out, looking right at Omnium for an answer. His father looked at him and rolled his neck as if he were rolling his eyes. Though, it would be hard to tell since he doesn't have any eyes, or any facial features for that matter.</p><p>"I simply needed to let off some steam, and wouldn't you know it? You seemed like a good target. Seeing as how you are the source of my anger in the first place. But, since I kind of need you to finish this whole thing, I also needed you alive. But seeing you dying was like a masterpiece to me." He said with the utmost pleased voice. Jaune snarled and glared at him as he was held in Amber's arms. He still felt too weak to lift himself up. But then his father spoke up again.</p><p>"Now as I was saying before; This energy, from what I have gathered, has taken form in these things called Relics. Now, mind you, When your fragments fell and formed into these things, they lost almost all of their power, leaving nothing but residue in it's place. but two fragments in particular intrigued me." Dux said, bringing up his two hands, then manifested two orbs of pure God Essence. One black, the other white. "Your core of truth and Unity" He said as he gestured to the black one. "And the core of Deceit and Death." This time, he gestured to the white one. The two orbs receded back into his hands and he shook his head in what seemed to be fascination.</p><p>"They seemed to mold with two organisms on this planet. They were each given immortality as a result. And the side effect of giving them magic. One could drain powers, while the other could gift them. It astonished me how our energy could mesh so chaotically with the likes of mortals. While you were still slumbering, I watched with fascination how the two went to war with each other. The death tolls were in the millions up until recently. The both of them are waiting patiently, biding their time and gathering their forces, presumably to engage in a final bout to decide who will come through in the end." Omnium explained, detailing what has happened while Jaune was slumbering. Jaune himself was taking the information as best he could. trying to wrap his head around it all. He was told that his powers were used to create that much conflict. Whoever was using those powers were fighting each other and costing countless amounts of lives. He would not and will not stand for this! When he finds those two bastards, he's going to tear them a new one!</p><p>Before Jaune could get back up to even stand, Amber kept him down, making him realize just how weak he felt at the moment. Omnium chuckled before continuing once more.</p><p>"They are amusing in their own right, and I almost want to stay as an observer to see what that would look like if they fought. I will admit, these...humans were they? They were much more entertaining than I might have anticipated. However, they must still be eradicated." Omnium stated, looking directly at Jaune. Amber tensed up and activated her Maiden powers again, being ready for combat if the need arose. She was once again unsure on how to handle all of the information that was coming from this divine entity. For all she knew, this guy could be one of the two brothers that created their world. However, what she needed right now was to get out of this alive along with Jaune, who had a <strong><em>lot</em></strong> to explain if that thing was saying that he was his son. But as she was going to stand and fight him in hopes of giving Jaune enough time to get away, the divine father shook his head and turned to Cinder's frozen form.</p><p>"As I have said before, I have not come here for a fight. As I see it, humans as of right now, are far from being able to harm me in any way. As for the reason I want them gone in the first place...is a trade secret. But for now, I will take miss Fall and her cohorts with me...oh, and Jaune..." Omnium called, turning his head before a line appeared where his mouth would be and spread across his face and opened to reveal a 'mouth' that was filled with some sort of static nothingness. Another smaller line appeared a bit higher and revealed two eyes of the same static nothingness.</p><p> <span><em><strong>"I Look Forward To Our Next Meeting. I Do Enjoy Them So."</strong></em></span> He stated, his voice sounding distorted as a T.V. without reception. He then raised his hand, coating Cinder, Emerald and Mercury in white energy. Finally, they disappeared in a warp of space, leaving Amber and Jaune alone in the middle of the dirt road.</p><p>Amber turned her head from one side of the road to the other, making sure that the coast was clear. She then sighed before letting her powers recede onto her body. She turned her head to the small form of Jaune now sitting up, rubbing the spot where the hole was. He looked up to the approaching Amber and sighed, knowing that she would have a number of questions to ask and demand an explanation for everything that was told to them by his father. He had already agreed that he would explain everything to her when they finished the battle, but that was when she was trusting of him. And he would have been able to explain everything in a calm manor without anything to make her doubt him. But now that the scab had been viciously torn off, the wound was bleeding and would easily irritate if not handled carefully. So he made up his mind and went to tell her everything.</p><p>"Before you say anything; Yes, That man Is my father. As much as it is annoying and angering to admit. And...yes, I did lie to you about my past, but you must understand that telling just anyone of my true nature, I wouldn't have known what they would have responded with. Fear, anger, confusion...there is no telling. I didn't want to come to this world just to be met with countless amounts of people wanting to kill me for my powers...do you understand?" Jaune said somberly, hoping that Amber would let him explain himself for lying. He never intended to deceive anyone, but the secret of his former godhood would not bode well if he wanted to gain the trust of anyone. They'd either assume he was crazy, or someone to be feared. But when he saw that Amber had a pained expression that told of her understanding and experience in that regard, he felt a small bit relieved.</p><p>"...Alright, let's say that what you say is true...I'd like to know how you came to inhabit the body of an eight year old boy and how that...your 'father' has to do with this." Amber said, wanting the full explanation from him. He was able to get onto his own two feet, but was obviously still recovering his strength. He then looked to Amber and started to tell her everything.</p><p>"It all starts with how my father came to be. Back before the universe was created, a single particle manifested itself. That particle then started to rapidly duplicate itself at astronomical speeds, and kept getting faster as more of it was manifesting until it took the shape of what my father is today. From there, he wandered the vast emptiness of the void. Soon enough, his powers had been growing indefinitely and bordered close to infinite in growth and capacity. At one point, he decided to create the universe. Once he grew bored of even that, he gathered most of his energy and created the Multiverse. Where they overlap, yet live on different fields of existence. To this day they infinitely in numbers showcasing the different possibilities that might happen. to view these universes, you must be a god that understands what the 'ultimate truth' is. I myself have seemed to have forgotten what it was when I was banished to this world. Upon seeing nothing but rocks and suns and other inanimate objects, my father took a piece of his infinitely growing core, and used it to create me. He tasked me to create life on as many planets as I could. It went on like that for an indefinite amount of time. But it was when I came across a single planet that had survived the collision of another planet. That other planet ended up being the moon of that planet, so I decided to name it...Remnant." Jaune explained, catching Amber off guard. If he was the one that populated the world, then...he was...</p><p>"Yeah...I'm one of the 'Brothers' that your textbooks talk about. Though, I have no idea how the tale of me and my father became so diluted that it changed to a story of two brothers that created all the things that want to kill humanity and the weapons that protect it. But I digress. I reckon that the fragments that my father mentioned must have been what created your Aura and Dust. I don't know who has my Divine Cores, but I'm sure as hell going to make sure that they pay for what they've done. And as for why my father banished me, It was because he forbade me from creating humans. I will admit, I never intended for the human race to be so advanced. But in defiance, I gave them an extra push in intelligence and let them be on their way. That was when my father stripped me of my place in the heavens and banished me here. Though, I believe I have an idea as to why he never wanted my to create humans. It was because...he's scared of them." Jaune continued, looking into Amber's eyes, giving his origin and his hypothesis on why his father might have banished him in the first place. He only thought this, because while his father was right about the humans and that they were no threat to him or himself when he was still a god, they had the potential to be a threat to them, and that they might one day become greater than themselves. He himself knew what was going to happen when he gave the humans that spark of intelligence. That their souls would grow and grow. Becoming greater than their creator and eventually, greater than his father. He figured that his father allowed them to go on for now because of his insatiable need for entertainment that had developed as he created everything. He thought that it also contributed to the reason his father abandoned him as well; Because he grew bored of him.</p><p>Amber looked at him with wary eyes. This was indeed a lot to take in all at once. Though, not too far fetched considering that the world did have magic and that Ozpin himself had explained that every fairy tale had truth to them. So with a heavy breath, she nodded to herself and resigned to go believe him, as she has been for the pat decade or so. If there was one thing that would complain about now though, It would be that Being a Maiden was tiring work.</p><p>"Alright. I believe you. You're a...former god that was banished to this world. And your father wants to wipe humanity off the face of Remnant. Okay...And that you are one of the two brothers, but are not brothers and are instead father and son...To further that, you did not intentionally create everything we have now, but was rather by accident as you were falling towards the planet...did I get all that right?" Amber asked tiredly. Jaune nodded and started walking down the path to where they were going in the first place. He walked slowly for he feared that any more than that he would collapse to the ground.</p><p>"That about sums it all up, yeah. Though most of my powers are still with me, they are abysmally weak when compared to what they were before. I think that I may be able to get back to my full power by getting my fragments back...or at least some of them. Seeing as how most of them have ingrained themselves to the planet. I think that the bigger chunks might have manifested themselves around the world. It's a wild guess, but one that I'm willing to bank on. Though, none of that will matter if I cannot acquire my two Divine Cores. They are essential pieces to the puzzle that is becoming a god. No mere mortal can hold their power alone. The white Core would corrupt any soul beyond imagination. It should, theoretically, kill the host eventually by becoming one with the core...or becoming a new white Core all together. The black core would do nearly the opposite, but will still kill the host by fragmenting them into the different pieces of the core and come together, stronger than the original. Either way, the mortal soul will give in eventually, and become one with their respective Cores. And considering that my father said that they are gathering their forces for a final battle...that time is coming sooner than later. And Amber..." Jaune continued, looking back into her eyes. He gave her a small smile, trying to show her that he was still the boy she got to know these past few weeks. "I want you to know that I care for you. I truly do. And that everything that may come our way...I'll make sure that you stay safe, no matter what." Jaune said with as much sincerity as he could muster. Amber was silent, but the smile on her face told him that she felt the same way. She then walked up to him and gave him a hug which he returned as well. So they started going on to their destination, but Jaune then remembered that she would explain what her power was.</p><p>"Hey Amber?"</p><p>"Yeah Jaune?"</p><p>"Where did your power come from?"</p><p>"Oh, they originated from a wizard that gained immense power one day and decided to gift them to four young women. The powers would then transfer to a new host when the woman dies. That is where they come from...or, at least a short version of how they came to be. It also allows us to control magic."</p><p>"Cool."</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>"Wait." Jaune said suddenly, thinking about how that sounded like how his father explained how the Black Core worked...</p><p>"Oh son of a bi-"</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Omake: An...Alternate Ending</strong>
</p><p>Dux Omnium had decided that while fun, the human race was indeed much too dangerous to keep around. So he decided that he would take care of the biggest threat there was right now and then kill the rest of them.</p><p>"Look son, I love the fact that you had such trust in me as to believe that I would give you enough time to make you a threat to me, I told you before when you made the humans in the first place." He started, dashing in front of the boy, and driving a hand through his heart. Jaune had widened eyes and a gaping mouth. Omnium let out a small chuckle before quoting himself. "You will die for that." He said with utmost confidence. But what stopped him was the small smile that Jaune gave him as well after a small grunt. He then brought up his left hand that was covered in a divine, energy. Omnium recognized the energy as a pure destructive spell that he had created himself. One that made him widen his eyes.</p><p>"You should have gone for the head."</p><p>"NO!"</p><p>
  <strong>*Snap*</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Explanations Are In Order</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jaune sat down at the base of another tree as Amber sat in front of him. He was still recovering from his injury. It turns out that something was wrong with him since he couldn't do much fighting since then. They were both well enough though. Since Amber had no reason to hold back her powers anymore, She used them freely.-What concerned him now though, was the fact that It turned out that Ozpin was the current host of the Black Core. And she told him that most likely, the creature named Salem most likely had the White Core. Jaune was damn near livid that these people were responsible for the deaths of so many people. However, Amber was able to convince him that Ozpin was justified in what he was doing. She didn't exactly agree with what the old wizard has done, but she knows that he does everything with a purpose. And that he wanted nothing but to destroy the witch and end the fighting for good. Jaune calmed down a bit, trying to think about their situation a bit more.</p><p><em>'You know, they might have just been normal people before my Cores were merged within them. They didn't have a choice in this matter. So I guess that they weren't completely in the wrong here. But I still want to know how this Ozpin character uses my powers. And if I see that he's using it for some stupid reason or that he's squandering It's powers, I'm taking it back faster than any particle of light can ever travel.'</em> Jaune thought to himself. He was going to accept that someone else was using his Cores for now. He figured that the one who had his Black Core, Ozpin, was forced to fight against the one with the White Core, Salem. Seeing as how he knows the destructive nature of the White Core, Salem was the first to attack, and Ozpin had to respond in kind out of defense. So he would let it slide.</p><p>He then returned his attention to Amber and saw that she was consulting a map. He figured that she was looking for the nearest village or town so that they could possibly get him some medical attention. He'd much appreciate it really. He could feel how wrong his 'healing' was. It felt like his heart wasn't in tune with the rest of his body. But at this point, he really didn't care about that right now. He just wanted to make sure that he got to Kuroyuri. That place was known for it's martial arts, incredible town structure, and most importantly, Aura healing techniques. Which would probably be the best for his situation right now. Maybe try to re-code his 'healed' injury to be in tune with the rest of his body. Luckily, Amber had a bit of good news for him.</p><p>"Alright, the nearest town is Kuroyuri, funnily enough. It shouldn't take more than a few hours from now, even with your condition. How are you feeling by the way?" Amber asked, concerned for her...little brother. It was a few days after they had been attacked by Cinder and her cronies alongside that run in with Jaune's father that she realized the depth of Jaune's predicament and knew that her sour mood was just that she was hurt that he didn't tell her sooner. From that point on, they were back to the way they were. In fact, they were even closer for it. He told her that he saw her as a sister and she in turn, told him that she saw him as a little brother. He beamed at the prospect and she felt the kind of familial love that she hadn't felt for a long time. It almost gave her hope that she might be able to see her father again. She has no idea how he's doing or where he is right now, but she has faith that he's alright. If nothing else, She could depend on Ozpin to keep something safe. So with the destination set, she got up and lent Jaune a hand to take.</p><p>Jaune looked up and saw her hand. It almost reminded him of when they first met. Thinking back on it now, It was not even two months ago when they met. He's actually starting to see a pattern of events. First, he meets someone new. They don't trust him at first. Then they open up to him and accept him as part of their family. Than after that, some bullshit happens that endangers the people that he's come to hold dear.</p><p>At first, he thought that the best option was to take himself away from the equation and take the danger away from them. Now however, he realizes that they might be better off if he stayed with them. Seeing as how his father might make another appearance and that if he died, he'd like to be surrounded by those he held dear...but that wasn't going to happen. He was going to train hard enough to defeat his father and save what he has grown to love about this planet. So with a spirit full of hope, he took Amber's hand and got up with her help.</p><p>He started walking and took note of his own attire. Torn shirt, which he was still miffed about because Summer made him this one, some worn shorts, which Raven got for him. and finally, his bare feet. He wasn't too mad about that one, seeing as the shoes he had didn't have any sentimental value. Though, he is tired of having to both wash them constantly and clearing any sharp objects that he might step on. It was kind of hard to focus with how much like crap he felt. But he continued forward, relying on Amber to be able to get him the medical attention he needed safely.</p><p>Sure they ran into a few Grim along the way, but they were just small fry, so no real need to actually use her Maiden powers. She would use them when they got too close to Jaune however. He appreciated the gesture, though he assured her that while his strength was gone, he was still as durable as ever. There was no Grim or human on Remnant that could bruise him, let alone pierce his skin. But even so, Amber still didn't want to risk his injury getting any worse than it already was. So with another wobble in his step, he trudged onward.</p><p>Amber was keeping her attention on her surroundings as they went forth. Making sure that there weren't any obstacles in their way. Maybe she was being a bit too tense for what would be called healthy. She just wanted to make sure that nothing like what happened a couple days ago didn't happen again. She knew that Shion was only about an hour away until they reached their destination, but Grim were unpredictable in how they behaved and how they surveyed the area. They could be hours away from a village, or they could prowl around the borders of one of the bigger cities. It was all dependent on what Grim lived around there. But the events that happened a few days ago has kept her understandably on her toes since then.</p><p>She sighed to herself, relaxing her muscles for the first time since what felt like weeks ago. She just wanted to talk to Jaune to maybe get her mind off of everything. Oum knows that her life has been nothing but tense.</p><hr/><p>"So...about the Rose family..." Amber asked idly as they took another break for Jaune to rest again. The boy himself had his eyes closed but still turned his head in her direction as he rested in the grass. Where did this come from?</p><p>"Yeah? What about them?" He asked, not knowing what the sudden interest in them was. Sure, they were highly skilled Hunters and Huntresses, but he figured that Amber of all people would be disinterested in them for that reason alone. But he would gladly answer whatever question she had. Granted, as long as it wasn't <em>too</em> weird or unreasonable.</p><p>"What are they like? Away from their jobs that is." She explained, showing her interest in what big shot Hunters were like at home. She hadn't really entertained the idea of learning before, but her core values and beliefs had...changed, so to speak. A near death experience along with befriending <em><strong>God</strong></em> of all people could do that to you. But of course, she still didn't plan on becoming a Hunter. Not that she could in the first place. Being a Maiden that could freely control magic sure did limit her options of living apparently. Go figure.</p><p>"Well, they're not all that different from other people if that's what you're wondering. They're nice to a fault. They also have a close knit relationship with their family members and care for one another immensely. I guess if I had to describe them, I'd say they are what you would call a picture perfect family." Jaune answered, remembering what his time with the family was like. Summer's unconditional love. Raven's reserved but still very involved support. Tai's ambitious training. And Qrow...was Qrow. But they still helped him immensely. There was no other family that he would rather have had. But as sad as it is. All good things had to come to an end. Which is why he was here in the first place. He knew that he was stagnating in his training, so he needed to go out into the world and progress on his own. And where did that get him? Injured, can hardly swing his sword anymore, and feeling like crap. But hey, he had Amber, so that had to count for something right?</p><p>Of course it did.</p><p>"Um, I kind of meant the specifics. Like how each of them act as a person." Amber specified. It was nice knowing that the family was picturesque as Jaune described them, but she wanted to know more about them. Maybe get a good reference from him when she met these people. And yes, she did intend on meeting them. After all, if she was going to be Jaune's big sister, she would have to meet the family that acted as <em>his</em> family in the first place.</p><p>"Oh yeah. Where to start off? I suppose that beginning with Summer would be a great starting point." Jaune said, sitting up from his spot in the grass. really thinking about the family for the first time in...gosh, how long had it been since he last saw them? a month? two? Three? He honestly lost count how many weeks he's been gone. But that was neither here nor there. So he went on and answered Amber's question as best as he could.</p><p>"Summer Rose...she's practically perfect. She's super nice. Cares about everyone, and will support you unconditionally. But can still kick your butt three ways to Sunday. Much like a mom actually...which she is. She's the mother to Ruby Rose. And speaking of Ruby...she's sweet. One of the cutest people you'll ever meet, and to top it all off, she's a dog Faunus! That's like, a regular person, but better!" Jaune said, laying back on the grass. Amber smirked a bit at the notion, seeing the small blush on his face. It seemed like the small boy had feelings for the other...which she is feeling conflicted about. If It's an ageless god in a boy's body, then would that be weird? Is he still eight? Or would he be Millennia old?</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>You know what? It's probably not worth thinking about right now. For now, teasing~.</p><p>"Oh? You're saying that as if you thought of her as more than a sister. I didn't think you were such a player." Amber said, giggling a bit to herself. And she found herself feeling amused with herself and feeling even more accepting of Jaune holding the title of "little brother". As for Jaune, the heat in his face grew a bit more at the small prodding of his love interest. He didn't mind it much. If it was the truth, then he saw no reason to deny it.</p><p>"I...kinda-maybe...do like-like her..." Jaune said, feeling a but bashful. Amber looked at him for a moment before smiling again. If that's how he felt, then who was she to stop him? It's not like she could. Even now while he was at his weakest. In fact, she would always be there for advice if he ever needed it. Which is what she has been debating on talking to him about for some time now. Whether or not she should break off from him and fulfill her duties as a Maiden, or stay and travel along with Jaune. Though she practically knows her answer, she still has her doubts. But all that could be set aside for now. They were still relaxing. After all, he just admitted to having feelings for someone! She can't just stop her teasing now!</p><p>"That's so adorable! What's next? A play-wedding? Going your secret place to..." Amber said before gasping at him, as if appalled with what he was 'supposedly' planning. "Hold Hands!? Oh Jaune, you little rascal!" Amber exclaimed, having both of them laughing on the grass. After a few moments, they settled down and just layed there, enjoying each others company.</p><p>They stayed like that for an hour longer before getting up to go towards Kuroyuri once more.</p><hr/><p>The rest of the trek was mostly peaceful, and Jaune's condition was actually starting to feel much better now! So at least that seemed to be going well. But either way, they appeared to be nearing a sort of border that lead into the village itself. Jaune and Amber both looked at each other before hearing their stomachs grumble in unison. They had been running low on food recently and had to forage the plant life around them to get by. But luckily, they had their destination in sight and would soon besiege the nearest restaurant and all of it's oh so delicious goods!</p><p>All jokes aside, they were both glad to have made it here. Though, Jaune was more excited than Amber since he would be here to receive training from that one Huntsman. He's sure that if he asked nicely, then he would get it. But if he doesn't...then he'll just bother the guy until he does. That's usually how it goes, right?</p><p>Yeah.</p><p>Amber on the other hand, was here because there was someone from Ozpin's circle to rendezvous with her and take the information on what she had gotten on an individual trying to experiment with Grim. It wasn't much, but anything was better than nothing. So she would be able to have that done with. Though, she feels as though she knows who that informant is...it probably doesn't matter. All that matters is that she would have more time to decide whether or not she <em>really</em> wanted to travel with Jaune. She knew it would come to her in due time.</p><p>As they approached the gate, one of the guards came up to them. No doubt to see who they were and to see if they were Bandits.</p><p>"Hold on there. Would you please tell us why you are here and what business you have with this village." The Guard asked, one hand at his side while the other was placed near the pistol at his side. His uniform looked old, but still reliable. Consisting of a dark green, long sleeve shirt that seemed to be suited for heavy rain. On top of that was a bulletproof vest of a lighter green and was designed more for flexibility than protection. He wore simple brown cargo pants that were tucked into his timber boots. on his head was a simple helmet to complete the uniform.</p><p>"Hello. My name is Amber. Me and my little brother are here as travelers looking to rest here for an extended period of time. We promise we are not here to cause any trouble. Isn't that right Jaune?" Amber asked, a smile on her face. both of the adults turned to him as he stepped up to answer her.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Hm...that's strange. It seemed like he couldn't...quite...speak. There was <em>something</em> coming out of his mouth. But it certainly wasn't words. It felt wet, warm and not like something that was supposed to leave his mouth...or leave at all actually. Also, why was the world starting to blur? Another thing to worry about. He couldn't really feel anything on the left side of his body...or any part of his body for that matter...oh dear.</p><hr/><p>Amber's and the Guard's eyes both widened as Jaune spat out a glob of blood from his mouth while Amber nearly screamed when his eyes lost most of the fire that had always been present. She was in action when he started to collapse to the floor and was able to catch him. Flashbacks to when Jaune's father had almost killed him ran through her mind. She couldn't let that happen again! Not again!</p><p>As she was trying to use her Aura to try and heal his injury, whatever it might be, Jaune was almost completely unresponsive. The Guard from before had knelt next to them and placed his fingers on Jaune's neck to see if there was a pulse...</p><p>"Shit! I don't feel it!" He shouted, making Amber panic a bit more. His heart stopped!? No! she couldn't let it end like this! It wasn't his time damn it! It wasn't his time!</p><p>As she tried to make her Aura kick-start his heart, The Guard shouted to the others that had gotten a bit closer to see what the commotion was about.</p><p>"Go get the medical bay ready! This kid's heart has stopped beating!" At that, the others quickly rushed to tell the others about this and to let the doctors of the village prepare. An onsite medic quickly rushed over to them to see what he could do.</p><p>Amber meanwhile, was still trying her hardest to get Jaune's heart to start up again. At this point, she had tears in her eyes. The dead look in Jaune's eyes just looked wrong. She knows what a corpse looks like. And some of them were children unfortunately. However, seeing Jaune in specific like this...she just couldn't let it happen. She didn't even hear the medic tell her to get off before she was pulled off of him by some of the other men. She tried to fight back, but another look into his blank eyes made her stop before breaking down into tears.</p><p>"Jaune...no..." Amber cried, almost going limp. The men around her let go and instead, guided her into the village. She couldn't stop sobbing the entire way.</p><p>Why did this have to happen to Jaune?</p><hr/><p>As Jaune was getting transported to the hospital of the village, a certain man had stopped to see what was going on. This man had long hair that was tied up into a bun while some of it swayed in front of his face. He wore a sort of Kimono, but the left side of the article was missing, showing the tattoo of a dragon going along the length of his arm starting at his shoulder. He normally had his belt that had a utility pouch and gourd, but left it at home along with his trusty bow and arrow. This was Lie Hanzo.</p><p>Next to him, holding on to his baggy pants, was his daughter, Lie Rei. She had a light green shirt on along with some white shorts. She had a single pink strip in her bangs that matched her magenta eyes. She currently had her hair in a pony tail as she wondered what her father was looking at.</p><p>Hanzo looked at the scene with keen eyes. He had a special ability to sense and feel Aura. It also allowed him to see where the Aura of others and himself were being concentrated. It's what allowed him to master the art of Aura Channeling. Not only that, but it also allowed him to be a great healer. On a general standpoint, he could see similarities in everyone's Aura and how they flowed. So with that in mind. When knew that the boy they brought in was special.</p><p>For one, he had a massive Aura. The largest that he had ever seen. And the largest he thought he would ever see. a normal person's Aura usually never grew to be larger than the height of a room. But this one had an Aura the size of a skyscraper. It was astounding. And he was a mere boy. No older than his daughter. He would have been smiling at the apparent Aura prodigy if it weren't for the other thing that he noticed.</p><p>That same Aura was currently thrashing and seemingly imploding on itself.</p><p>This was bad, considering the last time he saw this happen...well, actually, he <em>hadn't</em> seen this happen before. The only thing that could be close would be when he left his own Aura in someone else to track them. When he left his own Aura on someone, it would only be there for so long because the person's own Aura would work to try and extinguish the foreign Aura and possibly add it to the reservoir. But this...this was madness. He was sure that no one in the hospital could deal with this kind of thing. The doctors there were only trained to deal with physical healing. Only one or two of them had their Aura unlocked. And even fewer of them had a basic grasp on how to control it.</p><p>He needed to do something.</p><p>So he turned to his daughter before getting on one knee and talking to her.</p><p>"Rei, I need you to head back home and tell uncle Wilhelm that I had to take care of something. Alright?" He asked. She looked into his eyes before nodding her head. Her father always had a good reason when he did things. That was just how her Father was. So without a word, Rei turned around and started running back home. Hanzo sighed, thanking Oum for his daughter and wishing that his wife could still be there to see how their little Lotus Flower was growing. He turned around and made his way over to the hospital.</p><p>He had work to do.</p><hr/><p>"How does the patient look?"</p><p>"We were able to restart his heart and make it beat at a normal pace, but the patient himself seems to be in a comatose state. His Aura signature also seems to be fluctuating at a dangerous rate. It shows signs of fighting off a foreign substance, yet, we can't seem to pinpoint what the problem is."</p><p>"Anything else?"</p><p>"We can only do so much. We were lucky enough to get his heart rate back to normal. If the same event happens, we can't guarantee that we'll be able to repeat the results. At the rate his Aura is acting up, he'll die within the week."</p><p>"Damn it. And a child no less...hold on. See if you cant convince Mr. Lie to some over and see what he can do."</p><p>"That won't be necessary."</p><p>Suddenly, a voice interrupted the conversation between the nurse and the doctor. The two of them looked to see that Hanzo had entered the small hallway and was making his way to the two medical officials. The doctor whispered something to the nurse before handing her a sheet of paper from his clip board and dismissing her.</p><p>"Thank Oum. Mr. Lie, It's good to see you. We were hoping to see what you could do with the patient that came into our care not too long ago." The doctor asked, leading Hanzo into a room with various equipment inside. All hooked up to a single person.</p><p>All leading to one Jaune Noir.</p><p>The steady beeping of the heart monitor let him know that the boy was still alive. But every so often, there would be a rapid succession of fast paced beats before it would return to normal. Jaune himself looked quite pale. There was a light sheen of sweat on his body and his breath seemed labored. The child looked like he was standing on death's door. Hanzo narrowed his eyes. That same Aura from before had grown considerably smaller, now tightly clinging to his body. What he saw made his eyes instantly widened as he witnessed his Aura trying and failing to fight off this black blotch of energy that originated in his chest. Right where the heart was. His Aura was trying to weed out the foreign substance, but was being consumed by it instead. All of his Aura seemed to be on this task, leaving his body completely vulnerable to the damaging effects of the black energy.</p><p>Hanzo Ignored anything that the doctor was trying to tell him and quickly walked up to the small child, already channeling Aura into his palms and readying himself to try and destroy the invading substance.</p><p>He felt his soul shine, sending steady, powerful pulses through his body. He concentrated, and with minimal effort, concentrated all of his Aura into his hands. From there, he placed his hands upon Jaune's head. A hand on each side of his face. At first, he was met with a strong current of Jaune's Aura before he allowed his own to flow along with it. He wanted to be guided where the source of this problem was. As he felt his life force being guided, he could feel something...wrong. Like the black energy was...unnatural. It radiated something divine, yet corrupted. It was powerful, yet malevolent. As he tried to approach the substance, he suddenly felt it attack his own Aura violently. It was stronger than anything else he had ever dealt with.</p><p>"Agh!" Hanzo cried as he was forcibly shoved back a step. He didn't realize it, but he had developed a bead of sweat on his brow. The doctor from before had decided to let the man do his work, but tried to intervene when he saw that the man was suddenly forced back.</p><p>"No. I'm quite alright. I just need to be left alone with him. I need to be fully immersed If I want to cure him." Hanzo said, still facing the small child. The doctor looked conflicted before deciding to listen to him. He knew that he would do nothing but distract the man, so he left.</p><p><em>'This may take a while.'</em> Hanzo mused to himself, walking up to Jaune and doing the same as he did before. This time however, he would do everything in his power to make sure that whatever that black substance was, It was gone from the boy's body. As he tried it again, the substance attacked once more. It seemed that this would put his Aura control to the test.</p><p>
  <em>'But I won't stop until this is done. By the honor of my name, I will save this child.'</em>
</p><hr/><p>It took him several hours of nonstop channeling, but he was able to drive out most of the strange dark energy. It had left a mark however. Jaune's Aura would need time to recover and just as long for his body to get back into shape. When he came out of the room and told the doctors that he had finished the healing, he noticed that while he had started at around noon, the sun was now starting to set. He sighed and started to walk out of the building and thought to himself.</p><p>"I hope that Rei isn't too worried about me. I hate to keep her waiting for so long." Hanzo thought aloud. He also still needed to start on dinner. But with some wishful thinking, he would see that Reinhardt had made a delicious banquette.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Who was he kidding? That old man couldn't even boil water correctly. So he had to quicken his pace, otherwise his daughter and niece would have to go hungry. Oum only knows how grouchy Nora could get when she didn't have her dinnertime pancakes. But as he was walking into the area where most would wait to be treated, he heard a commotion at the front desk.</p><p>"I don't care what policy says! I want to know where you're keeping my little brother!" A woman shouted at the receptionist. Hanzo stopped what he was doing to listen in on what was happening so that he may better understand the situation and possibly settle the situation before it got out of hand.</p><p>"I'm sorry ma'am, but until he's out of surgery, he cant have any visitors." The man cowered behind his desk. This woman had been here for hours now! constantly yelling at him. demanding that he tell her where the patient was. But if he did, he could get fired! Or worse! Get <em>demoted</em>! He is <strong><em>not</em></strong> going to go back to cleaning out the dumpster out back. He can't go back to that, Man! He just can't!</p><p>"I saw my little brother spout blood from his mouth while his heart stopped beating! Either you tell me where he is, or I will go looking for him! It can't be that hard to find a small, blonde eight year old boy." The woman said, starting to walk to the door that Hanzo had entered through. Hanzo himself had heard what she said and thought about the boy that he had just helped.</p><p>Just as Amber was going further enter the building, she heard a call from behind her. She assumed that it was the same guy that was spouting all this nonsense about 'Company Policy' or whatever. So she turned on her heel with a heated stare, about to tear into the guy before she was interrupted by said man.</p><p>"I overheard what you were saying earlier. I think the boy I helped just now is this little brother you were speaking of?" Hanzo asked, making Amber close her mouth before giving him a quizzical look.</p><p>"Who are you and what did you do to Jaune?" Amber questioned, narrowing her eyes at Hanzo. She had no Idea who this guy was. So she had a right to be suspicious of him. But even at her questioning glare, he gave a small smile before telling her to follow him as he walked back into the building. She was hesitant at first, not sure what this guy was about before giving the receptionist one last glare and following Hanzo, leaving the receptionist man by his lonesome.</p><p>"I'm so going to be demoted."</p><hr/><p>As Hanzo lead Amber to Jaune's room, She had taken to asking him some questions. He was more than willing to answer of course. Though, that was mostly because he wanted to get this over with as quick as possible so that he could get back to his family. It's not like he was going to just leave her there. Not since she shared relations with the Aura prodigy apparently. He thought about it for a bit before deciding to invite her over to stay at his house as a guest. Seeing as she didn't have much else where to go. And when the child came to and was signed out of the hospital, he would invite him over as well and ask him if he would like to receive training in controlling his Aura. He'd need it to recover fully. Not to mention that he'd need the training to fully control that vast amount of Aura as well. Now whether he wants the training in the first place is up to him...but, if he were to say no, then he <em>could</em> make him stay with his family until he recovers. And if he were to, lets say, bring it up multiple times with some...<em>incentive</em> like oh, you know, a recommendation letter to whatever school he would be interested in would maybe change his mind.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Or he could just bother him until he said yes. It worked like that, right? Of course.</p><p>He can't just let a child with that vast of an Aura go! It was a once in a lifetime thing that he wouldn't be able to see again. Plus...there was his daughter to think about. He couldn't be there forever. It was a sad fact of life. People live, and then they die. He had no plans of dying any time soon mind you, but in the future...he's not so sure. But if he were to train someone, preferably this one, to maybe act as a guardian for his little Lotus Flower, he would be able to see to it that Rei stayed safe...that, and he was worried for the family line.</p><p>The Lie family was short on members, seeing as how his wife...passed away in a Grim attack. His brother died on a mission when they were younger, and his own parents had passed away some time ago, it had only been him and his daughter. Rei was also looking to be quite to reclusive type. She would hardly interact with anyone outside the family. The family being him, Nora and Reinhardt. That's not to say he would force her to marry this boy. He didn't even know what his name is! I mean, who would just hand their daughter over to a man and force them to marry?</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>*Cough*</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Anyway, it would be nice if she were to get together with <em>someone.</em> He wanted grandchildren dammit! And if she were to <em>just so happen</em> to pair up with this child, then he would be killing two birds with one stone! A win-win!</p><p>So with that in mind, he had made it to the room that he had just operated in, showing Amber the resting form of Jaune. He looked worse for wear, but he at least seemed at ease. Amber immediately approached his body and knelt next to his bed. She had been so worried about him!</p><p>"I'm sorry Jaune. I should have known that whatever healed you wasn't just a freebie. I should have known..." Amber whispered, burying her head into his shoulder. She felt so helpless then. Heck! she felt helpless now! But since this nice man helped him, she could let out a sigh of relief she supposed. And give him a thank you. It was the least she could do.</p><p>"Thank you. I'm not sure whether or not he would have made it. But you went out of your way to help him. What's your name by the way?" Amber asked, standing back up and addressing the older man. Hanzo nodded to her before deciding to introduce himself properly.</p><p>"I am Lie Hanzo. What I did was simply what any other man would do." <em>'Though I doubt any other man </em>could <em>do what I did.'</em> "It was no trouble to me." <em>'That is a complete lie. But modesty is key.'</em></p><p>"I...I can't thank you enough. If there's anything that I can do to pay you back, just ask." Amber said with tears in her eyes. She truly was grateful for Hanzo and what he had done for her and Jaune.</p><p>"For a moment I thought..." Amber tried to start, before Hanzo held up a hand, stopping her from continuing.</p><p>"No need. I know how important family is. Speaking of which. If you don't have anywhere to sleep, I would like to invite you to stay in my home as a guest. When the child awakes, he may stay in my home as well." Hanzo offered. Amber widened her eyes, already raising her arms to refuse such an offer.</p><p>"Oh no! I couldn't possibly bother you for such a thing. You've already done more than enough! I'll just stay in a local inn or something." Amber tried to reason, waving his suggestion. Hanzo was having non of this however.</p><p>"I insist. My daughter would love you, I'm sure of it. Now come along. I was just heading out to make my family some supper." Hanzo said, already leading Amber by the shoulders to his home. Amber herself blinked a few times before trying to talk him out of it again.</p><p>"B-but Jaune! He-" Amber tried, but Hanzo interrupted her while still holding on to not only her shoulders, but also his smile.</p><p>"He will be fine. We can come back by morning. Now lets move along."</p><p>"Do I have a choice in the ma-"</p><p>"No you do not."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Home Remedies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Gah! Who!? What!? When!? Where!? Why!?...How did I end up in this place?" Jaune exclaimed in quick succession as he jolted up from his position on a...comfy bed? All he remembered was approaching the village border, then passing out. He's pretty sure that it was just from the hunger, but the fatigue throughout his entire body told him otherwise. That and the fact that he realized he was inside a hospital now was a big red flag.</p><p>"That...can't be good." Jaune thought out loud. He looked around and saw that the room was bathed in darkness. It was nighttime then. Huh. How long has he been out? It's all been a long blur of motion. Though, in his dream, he could have sworn he saw what his family from Patch was doing. They were all training and trying to settle into a city of sorts. But that was probably just his imagination. As optimistic as it is, it brought a smile to his face. Thinking about his family always brought good feelings to his heart.</p><p>But enough of the feels! He needed to get to the bottom of how he got into this mess. So with a flip of his blanket, he took off all of the weird wires and machines connected to him and walked over to the window, opening it and just observing the nighttime view.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Until he got sick of the loud noises that the machines were making and just decided to jump out the window.</p><p>"Alright, now to just-Gah!" Jaune tried to say until he felt a stab of pain through his entire system. He was trying to use his powers and create a bubble of air and soften his landing to nothing before he suddenly felt a huge spike of pain through his body, causing him to seize up. He couldn't do anything until he crashed to the ground with a hard thump. It didn't bother him much, but the pain from earlier was still there, causing him to curl up into a ball and grit his teeth.</p><p><em>'Dear lord! Is this what pain feels like!? I hate it! It's everywhere! Make it stop!'</em> Jaune thought to himself as he tried to get up and get help from someone. Anyone! He just wanted the pain to stop!</p><p>"Help! Anybody!?" Jaune cried out, going into the street and trying to find anyone that would listen. His vision was blurry however, and he could only make out basic shapes and coloring. He stumbled and walked down the dirt road, feeling his body starting to shut down again.</p><p>"Anybody?" Jaune asked weakly, falling to his knees, an eye already drooped closed. He heard distant voices coming closer to him, as if exclaiming to help him, but he had already gone numb. His body couldn't handle so much pain at once. So as he landed on the dirt path with his head to the side, his world slowly turned to black once again.</p><hr/><p>As Jaune came to once again, he noticed a couple of things. He was once again on a comfy bed. Difference this time however, was that he could tell this wasn't the hospital. Second, he was accompanied by a Goliath of a man! Said man had noticed him staring and his eyes lit up, a smile on his face. The older gentleman was wearing a white muscle shirt with dark grey cargo pants. On his feet were steel tipped combat boots. His aged white hair having been combed back, showing his rather youthful looking face. The most prominent feature being the lone scar that went over his eye that was obviously blinded. What you could see of his torso was littered with different scars that told stories of glorious battle.</p><p>"Ah, he's awake! Hanzo! Get in here!" The tall man said in a peculiar accent. It sounded strange to Jaune. It was something that he had never heard before. The accent left him wanting to know where he came from before he heard a small commotion from the other room. Soon after, it was followed by footsteps. He looked to the man and went to ask something before the door to the room slid open, revealing Hanzo himself.</p><p>"I see. So you have woken up." Hanzo stated, walking to the foot of the bed. Jaune looked to his left, then to his right before looking back to Hanzo and raising an eyebrow.</p><p>"Where am I and what am I doing here?" Jaune asked not really getting the situation he was in or why these strangers were talking to him.</p><p>Hanzo nodded in understanding and decided to introduce himself. Getting that Jaune would be confused as to why he would be in another person's house.</p><p>"My apologies, I should introduce myself. I am Lie Hanzo. The head of the Lie Clan." Hanzo said with a bow. Jaune nodded before his eyes widened after thinking about it for a minute. This guy was-</p><p>Before he could think on it too much, the other man with Hanzo spoke up next with his boisterous voice and exotic accent.</p><p>"And I am Wilhelm Reinhardt. Head of the Village Guard!" He said as he puffed out his chest and stroked his beard. Jaune stared at it for a moment, subconsciously reaching a hand to stroke his bald chin. He was definitely growing a beard the next chance he got.</p><p>"I brought you into my home after finding out you had escaped the hospital and collapsed onto the road." Hanzo explained, giving Jaune insight as to how he got here. Jaune nodded, looking down at himself before finally speaking up.</p><p>"Alright, I think I have a gist on the situation. But uh, why exactly was I in the hospital in the first place?" Jaune asked, looking to Reinhardt first but turned to Hanzo when the big man just shrugged his shoulders, telling him that he had no idea either. Hanzo nodded to him before explaining.</p><p>"When you and your sister were entering the village, your heart had ceased beating and you had spouted blood from your mouth. The paramedics were able to restart your heart, but they were unable to cure you of whatever illness that had caused it in the first place. They gave you a weeks time before you perished. However, I was able to see what the problem was and rid of a foreign substance that was reeking havoc on your body and Aura." Hanzo explained, telling Jaune all he needed to know about where that 'foreign substance' came from. He would have to talk to Amber about that soon. Speaking of whom...</p><p>"I see. By the way, do you happen to know where my sister is? She's average height, tan skin, brown hair, has a spear...Ring any be-" Jaune tried to describe before he was interrupted by a brown comet.</p><p>"JAUNE!" Amber shouted, tackling the small boy off the bed and to the floor, nearly hugging the life out of him,</p><p>"Oh my gosh! You don't know how worried I was! Please don't ever do that to me again!" Amber cried into Jaune's shoulder as he sat there dazed. He shook his head before hugging her back, glad to know how much Amber cared for him. He really was grateful for his big sister.</p><p>"It's alright, sis. I'll always get back up. I promise." Jaune said, making Amber smile at him before Hanzo cleared his throat to garner their attention.</p><p>"I'm glad you two could reunite, however, I must warn you about the injury that Jaune sustained and what has happened to his body and Aura. because of it." Hanzo said with caution. It made Amber feel worried all over again while Jaune already had a gist of what was happening with his own body.</p><p>"What do you mean? What happened?" Amber asked, already knowing that whatever Jaune's father did to him was more than met the eye. Hanzo spoke up, starting his explanation of what he had sensed within the boy.</p><p>"When I had taken a look at his Aura when he was being taken into the village, I sensed that he had a massive Aura pool. Larger than I have ever seen before. Yet it seemed to have been imploding upon itself. When I came into his room to try and heal whatever ailed him, his Aura had shrunken to an average child's. It was there that I found a strange...substance taking residence within your chest, right where your heart was." Hanzo started, explaining to the both of them what he saw. Amber was already going to the conclusion that Jaune's father had done that on purpose to weaken Jaune. However, Jaune had thought of something else. Something that he already knew the two wielders of his cores would realize when they learn what happens when a mortal tries to harness the power of the divine...</p><p>"As I approached him, I could see that the dark substance was absorbing all the Aura that was trying to combat it. All of that Aura was doing nothing to the strange energy. When I tried to root it out, the foreign entity had physically pushed me away. However, with my mastery over Aura control, I was able to successfully drive the substance out enough for it to die out on it's own." Hanzo said, finishing his explanation of what he had done with the apparent 'sickness' the boy encountered. He continued, finally explaining what his condition is now and what he needed to do.</p><p>"Jaune, your body suffered greatly from the experience. All of your Aura was too busy to try and get rid of the substance that the virus itself had no resistance in harming your body itself. Any Aura enhancements you might have been able to do is strictly impossible in your state. Your Aura is vast, but it is uncontrolled. Any attempt to infuse yourself with Aura or any other power will lead to further damage. As of now, any Aura enhancements are strictly impossible. You will hardly get through the day as you are, let alone fight. Which is why..." Hanzo said, laying out just how bad the situation was for him. Jaune thought about what Hanzo had said and how it made sense. That was why he couldn't call upon his normal powers. His body just couldn't muster the strength to do so. He didn't really hear what Hanzo had said last, or that he was going to lead into what he had wanted from here in the first place, but he was going to ask the same thing, coincidentally.</p><p>"I want you to train me in the ways of Aura."</p><p>"I want to train you in the ways of Aura."</p><p>Both Hanzo and Jaune looked at each other, a single eyebrow raised from each of them before they narrowed their eyes. Jaune got up to his feet, albeit with a wobble in his legs.</p><p>"We start tomorrow." Jaune stated, his voice leaving no room for argument. Hanzo added to the demand with one of his.</p><p>"At sunrise." Hanzo ordered before they both said their last pieces of the conversation.</p><p>"Don't be late." They both said in unison. they both nodded before Hanzo turned on his heel and left the room, leaving a confused Amber and an amused Reinhardt. Amber was the first to speak up, not really getting what just happened.</p><p>"I...was it that easy?" Amber asked to no one in particular. She understood what Jaune wanted to do here and she knew that he wanted to train under someone that had a high proficiency in Aura control, but she would figure that the person would be some cranky old man that would be too stubborn to take anyone under his wing. But for the exchange to be that quick and easy? Amber was getting real tired of all this craziness going on around her. And she still had to talk to that informant that Ozpin was going to send over.</p><p>Reinhardt on the other hand, was <em>loving</em> this kid.</p><p>"Haha! I like this one! You should meet my granddaughter! She would love to meet you." Reinhardt exclaimed, picking up a now confused Jaune and hoisting him over his own shoulder. Amber snapped out of her tiredness at this and giggle at how Jaune was so easily carried away by the giant man. Jaune just looked at her and shrugged before being carried out of the room and taken to whoever this granddaughter was.</p><hr/><p>Jaune was...having a blast actually. This Nora he met not five minutes ago was so lively and bubbly, it was contagious! So as they were playing around the rather large house, Jaune had learned very quickly just how strong Nora was. She was practically as strong as a grown Huntress in training for crying out loud! She <em>almost</em> beat him in an arm wrestling match.</p><p>
  <em>Almost.</em>
</p><p>Currently, they were running around and playing tag-wrestling. A game that she came up with where one of them is 'it' and they have to tackle the other to the ground and pin them for three seconds to make them 'it'. The game was surprisingly fun. Nora was winning with five pins while he only had three. She had won one or two struggles between the two with how flexible she was and how weakened he was. Though, he still had a blast. There was one other thing that he noticed though with his time playing with Nora. And that was the other girl that had been watching them the entire time, not really approaching him. She would occasionally talk to Nora when they were alone, but would stop whenever he tried to get close to her. He wondered what might have been wrong with him to warrant such a reaction, but decided to ask her about it later. She would speak to him when she was ready.</p><p>"One! Two! Aw dang it! Get back here!" Nora exclaimed as she failed to keep Jaune in the pin long enough to gain another point. Jaune himself was panting and trying to run away while clutching his chest. His chest felt a little tight, and there was some mild burning in his lungs. He might want to stop now.</p><p>"Nora, hold on. I'm a little...a little...tired." Jaune said as he leaned against a wall and slowly slumped down on it. Nora stopped running and looked worried about her new friend. He looked really worn out. He was sweating and his breathing sounded labored. She squatted next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>"Are you okay? I should go get grandpa Reinie." Nora said, already getting up to get her grandpa, or even her uncle. But Jaune waved away her concerns, still sitting against the wall.</p><p>"It's okay. I'm just a little tired. I should be fine in a few minutes. Sorry for having to stop playing so soon." Jaune said, smiling at the ginger girl. Nora's worried expression slowly turned back to her joyful one again. However, she looked more calm now and sat down next to him. They stayed there for a moment, just resting from their playtime together.</p><p>Meanwhile, Rei on the other side of the room was debating with herself about how to approach this new person. She was lucky enough to not have to deal with the older lady. She was currently resting after staying up for five nights strait. However, now she had to deal with this blonde <em>boy</em> that her father had taken in. She knew her father had some purpose to bring him in, so she would trust him, but that didn't mean she had to like the guest. Admittedly though, she didn't dislike him either.</p><p>It was a weird feeling to not like person but also not-not like someone at the same time. She wanted to talk to him but her own nervousness was getting in the way. Along with the fact that he always seemed busy with playing with Nora to really talk to her was a problem. But now that he was taking a break and not doing anything, she could possibly talk to him now. The fact that Nora was there was helping as she had someone that she knew and cherished to help her if words ever lost her. So with a purpose in her step, Rei walked up to Jaune and introduced herself.</p><p>"H-hello. My name is Lie Rei. It is a pleasure to meet you. What is your name?" She asked, bowing to him and trying to avert her eyes from him out of nervousness. Jaune looked up and saw the girl that was trying to talk to him. She was wearing a green long-sleeved shirt with some white cargo shorts. An adorable set of magenta eyes darting everywhere but his direction with a set of black hair on top of her head. A single streak of pink sticking out in her bangs. He thought that was a bit strange, but it brought out her eyes much more.</p><p>"Hi. I'm Jaune Noir. It's nice to meet you too." Jaune greeted back. He stood up from his position against the wall and bowed in return. When he stood up strait again, he looked directly into her magenta eyes for the briefest of moments before Rei diverted them again. Jaune couldn't help but think about how pretty she was.</p><p>"U-um, It was nice talking to you, and I hope we can spend time together later, but I must attend to the garden now. Bye." Rei said, excusing herself and walked out of the room quickly as to try and hide the blush that spread across her face. She had never encountered someone that had such deep eyes. She could also see his Aura and tell that he was special.</p><p>Much like her father, Rei could sense and see people's Aura's naturally. And Jaune's Aura was a pure white. It was just so...comforting and warm. It felt genuinely nice to talk to him for the small amount of time that they had interacted. She could see herself enjoying the rest of the time that he was going to stay here.</p><hr/><p>After that small interaction with Rei, both he and Nora went back to playing. All the while Hanzo was sitting in his study, trying to think about what could have caused such an infection to the small child. He has seen many things in his life. From his parents dying when he and his brother were young, to that same brother dying to save his life, to even the tragedy that befell his wife. Yet there was no explanation as to what he had encountered with that child.</p><p>That energy was just so unnatural that there was no reasonable explanation that he could come up with that would explain how such a young child could have contracted it within himself. The only things that he could think of that were even remotely close to making sense was that it was either a curse of his bloodline, or something that had to do with Grim. The only way he was able to drive it out was because he was able to make the energy exhaust itself by making it attack his Aura before retracting it before the energy could do anything. Even then, it took several hours to do so. For such a small amount of energy stored within the area, it had almost no end. It scared him how powerful it was. He'd have to ask about it at a later time. For now, he needed to talk to talk to his daughter, she had been standing in the doorway for the past few minutes after all.</p><p>"Yes Rei? Do you need something?" Hanzo asked, turning to his only daughter. She seemed to be broken out of some kind of trance and turned her attention to him as well.</p><p>"Oh, um, I just wanted to ask you for some advice, father." Rei said, making Hanzo raise his eyebrow. She hadn't come to him for much advice in a few weeks. What could she possibly need from him now?...Hold on.</p><p>"W-well. It's just...about the boy you brought into our home." Rei began, fiddling with her shirt sleeves. Hanzo had a blank face, showing his ever stoic and wise character. At least, that's what his daughter thought, but inside, Hanzo was <em>really </em>hoping for a certain something.</p><p>"Really? Well, if it's about how you don't like their company, then I apologize. However, if you would just give it time, then I can assure you that they will grow on you." Hanzo said, trying to reason with his daughter. Though, he hoped that her concern would be for the exact opposite. But as soon as he said it, Rei's eyes shot open and held her arms out, denying what her father thought she was worried about.</p><p>"N-no! That's not what I meant! I wanted to...ask you something that might help me." Rei said, now playing with her hair and sporting an atomic blush. The sight made Hanzo feel even more hopeful about what she wanted to ask of him.</p><p>"Anything you need my little Lotus Flower. I will try to give you my best advice." Hanzo said, giving his daughter a comforting smile...on the outside. On the <em>inside </em>he was preparing the party poppers and thinking about how he would spoil his future grandchildren.</p><p>Rei had no idea that her father was thinking this and looked to him with her flustered expression while giving an awkward smile.</p><p>"Can you teach me how to talk to boys?" Rei asked, not realizing just what she had done for her father.</p><p>"I see." Hanzo said in a calm voice. Yet, if you hadn't gotten the hint. Then you know what might be happening inside his mind.</p><p>
  <em>'Haha! The Lie family Legacy will live on! I've got to get ready for my grandchildren! Oh! I should ask Reinhardt what I should do...Oh! I should tell Reinhardt! Haha! This kid is the best thing to happen to this family in a long time.'</em>
</p><p>"Well, let's see what I can do."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Parental Visitations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>'I'm going to miss them.'</em> Jaune suddenly thought as he ate lunch with Amber. He paused for a moment then. Miss them? Who? What was he talking about? For some reason he felt like he just spent a good sum of time with people that he grew to call friends. It was a strange feeling. As though his memory was wiped, but the feelings invoked in this body were still there. An oddity to be sure. But he was conversing with Amber on what's been happening since she woke up from her 48 hour nap. After she found out that Jaune was going to be okay and that there wouldn't be anything to worry about, she promptly conked out and fell dead asleep. His training with Hanzo was mostly just getting in tune with his soul...or, that's what he said was happening. Mostly, he just sat there and closed his eyes for what felt like the whole day. Even though it was only a few hours at most. He tried to 'Look deep within the self that is not what you perceive, but the one that perceives you.'...whatever that meant. When he came here to get training, he expected something like rigorous breathing techniques. Like a breathing mask that would make it impossible to breath unless he took in oxygen a certain way. But just meditating was cool too...</p><p>"Hey, you know, I still have to meet this one guy that Ozpin sent. I was supposed to tell him of some things that I came across regarding the behaviors of some Grim along with what his enemies are doing, but after you...you know, I obviously had to push that back by a few days. Though, if I wait any more than four days they'll have to assume that I died. And wanting to avoid what that entails, I am going to meet him at the village Inn. Would you like to join? I think Ozpin would like to know about you and vice versa." Amber said as she fed on a rather delectable curry. The family was kind enough to make them food. Surprisingly enough, Reinhardt was almost graceful in the way he moved around the kitchen with Hanzo. It was rather amusing to see such a large man in a rather small apron. But of course, the man had to leave shortly with his own sizable portion due to his duty as Head of Village Security.</p><p>"Sure. Why not. I'd like to know what type of people he surrounds himself with anyway. You can tell a lot about a person by seeing who their friends are." Jaune said as he finished his own bowl. He got up and went over to the sink and began to wash it by hand. Normally, he would just do it with his power over the elements, but since those were out of order, he had to do it the old fashion way. It wasn't bad though, just a little tedious sometimes.</p><p>A total of two days have passed since he's awoken in that bed, and he's only gotten more acquainted with both Rei and Nora. It was a blast being able to play with the redhead. Rei still hasn't really tried to talk with him since that one time when he first woke up. He knew that she wanted to talk to him. But she looked like she was too nervous to really approach him. He understood and would wait patiently until she was ready. He wouldn't want to push a potential friend away now did he?</p><p>However, right now, he was out in the streets of Kuroyuri, just exploring and enjoying the sights that it had to offer. It was simple enough. A very tight-nit community that made him feel safe. Some of the people had sent him small glances, having not seen his around before. He waved back at them with friendly smiles. He figured that if he was going to be here for an unknown amount of time, he may as well get comfortable with his neighbors.</p><p>"Who's he? I've never seen him before."</p><p>"It's the child that collapsed at the border almost a week ago."</p><p>"Oh! He seems to be alright. I heard that he was taken in by Hanzo, what to you think he did that for?"</p><p>"Well, I heard..."</p><p>Oh, so a bunch of gossipers lived here. Neat. Got to pass the time around here somehow, right? But he'd rather avoid such things if possible. He knew that if he were to go for important roles within the political field when he grew up, things that he does now will surely be brought up then. I mean, if you saw some of he internet posts of those guys...<em>sheesh!</em> What a bunch of clowns they are...no, that doesn't properly describe them. They are not clowns. They are the entire circus.</p><p>Either way, he just traveled the roads and even walked into a community park that was filled with wild plants and flora. It was here that Jaune's leisure walk was interrupted by the lotus flower of the Lie family, Rei, suddenly walking out from a corner and in front of him.</p><p>"..."</p><p>"..."</p><p>"...Hi." Rei eventually said as they stood there in silence. She wore a nervous expression on her face, having apparently not planning on getting this far.</p><p>"Oh hi, Rei. What brings you here?" Jaune asked the smaller girl. He was thinking about her not three minutes ago and how he wanted to see what she wanted to talk about. Funny how things work out like that. Who knows? Maybe a surprise visit from his family then?</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>Can't blame him for trying.</p><p>"I...I just wanted to apologize." Rei said, looking to the side and poking her finger tips together. Something that Jaune found to be extremely cute, but confused him with what she meant.</p><p>"Apologize for what?" He asked, tilting his head. Rei then tilted her head down while trying to maintain eye contact. Gosh dang it...she was going to start rivaling Ruby at this rate.</p><p>"I wanted to apologize for my rudeness. I have been avoiding you. I did not mean to offend you or seem unhappy with your presence. I simply...have trouble talking to other people." Rei explained. Jaune just gave her a broad smile before giving her a thumbs up.</p><p>"It's alright. I'm just happy that your talking to me now." Jaune said with no small amounts of joy and relief. At the very least, he now knew that she didn't hate him. Which was a plus.</p><p>"...If you would wish...I could help you with my father's lessons. I have seen you train with him. You seem...lost. I understand that my father's words of wisdom can be...hard to decipher. I can help you to understand...b-but only if you want. I will not force you..." Rei said timidly. Jaune looked to her slightly surprised. She saw them training? And on top of that she could see that he was struggling. Well...what the heck. Why not? He'd not only get better training from this, but he'd also spend more time with her. That meant that he would be able to get to know her better. Always a plus whenever he could better his friendship with everyone.</p><p>"Really? Are you sure? I'd love to get some help then. Thank you!" Jaune said, proclaiming his gratitude with an even more radiant smile that somehow <em>literally </em>shined in the limited sunlight that the high walls of the bushes allowed. Even so, his expression of excitement and gratitude was enough to make Rei feel happy with herself and paint a small hue of pink on her cheeks. She had a small but significant smile on her face as she turned from him. Her father had told her that she simply needed to speak to Jaune as she would her father. But it just wasn't that simple! She could talk to her father so easily because she knew that he would lover her unconditionally no matter what she did. But she felt so nervous around Jaune. Like she truly cared about what he thought about her. It all started like this when she first saw him be brought into the house. As she saw his resting face, she had a feeling like he was going to be rather special. That thought was solidified when her father informed her that Jaune had an exceptionally large Aura pool.</p><p>"I-it's no p-problem. I can help you later today...I-if that's okay with you." Rei said as she turned back to him and saw once again those sparkling azure orbs and his kind expression.</p><p>"Of course. I have somewhere to go right now, but I'll talk to you about it when I get back. It's been good talking to you, Rei!" Jaune said before quickly wrapping her in a warm hug and just as quickly releasing her so that he could leave. He had only planned on coming to this park for a small while before he went to that Inn that Amber mentioned. They were to go there at around noon. So with a pep in his step, Jaune walked away from the park and left a frozen Rei there to process what just happened.</p><p>
  <em>'I feel warm...'</em>
</p><hr/><p>This was it. It would be the first thing that he would see of this 'Ozpin' fellow. Granted, he would rather have met the man in person, but even he knew that matters of this degree, there was a certain amount of caution that one must take. If the attack on Amber was any indication, then he could understand why he would send someone else to get information like this. He was assured by Amber that Ozpin only had the best in mind for everyone and actively sought the end to his curse.</p><p><em>'Immortality. Something that I would have no problem with when I was still a god myself...but now that I have people that I care about. To have to live on and see everyone that I've come to know and love die while I outlive them all...a curse of the worst degree.'</em> Jaune thought to himself as he approached the building. Even so, he couldn't help but feel troubled by the fact that he was bringing other people into this war of his. Strength in numbers he guessed. But if that were the case, then why was Amber traveling by herself? With only small meetings like this to make sure that they were okay that only happen once every few months if not once a year!? That means that a Maiden could be killed literally <strong><span>two days</span></strong> after a meeting and they wouldn't know it happened until <span><em><strong>MONTHS</strong></em></span> later. None of it made sense to Jaune. Why not keep them in a populated area like Vale or something? 'Oh, it would leave them out in the open'. Good! That just meant that if anyone wanted to get to them, then they'd need to sneak pass the border without any weapons on them, weed them out from the literal <em>thousands</em> of people there, and try to find a way to get to them without A) Being caught. B) Raising Suspicion. and C) Do it all without revealing to everyone what's been happening behind the curtains. Not to mention, they could live normal lives while knowing that they could be saved by either the local police force, a Huntsman, or even the Headmaster of the Academy they would live <em>right next to</em>. Amber has shown him that a Maiden can hide their powers really easily and that they have regular Aura and Semblances like anyone else. So they could blend into the crowd making it even harder for them to be easily killed. They could go to the Headmaster directly when they find something suspicious. No need for this forced isolation bull-honky...</p><p>Just saying.</p><p>"Alright Jaune, lets go in. He's already here. He said that he'd be the one that has a plate in front of him, but reading a newspaper backwards and upside down instead." Amber said as they entered the building. Jaune was a little perplexed by that. If that were the case, wouldn't they stand out even more than-</p><p>"Oof!" Jaune exclaimed as he tripped over...his own shoelaces? He could have sworn he tied those earlier. Amber looked down at him and slightly giggled at his misfortune. He let out a slightly frustrated sigh, got up, and tried to walk agai-</p><p>"Oof!"</p><p>He looked down to see that there was a displaced floorboard at his feet. How did he not notice that beforehand? Amber had given up and started to giggle uncontrollably, going to try and find the guy while Jaune got his bearings back in place.</p><p>"Alright Mr. Two Left Feet, I'll go on ahead while-WHOA!" Amber tried to say as she took a few steps. However, it seemed that in her neglect, she failed to notice that there was a caution sign that warned of a wet and polished floor, making her slip and fall. It was now Jaune's turn to lightly laugh at her misfortune. Amber did not seem amused.</p><p>As they both stood and silently questioned why they suddenly had such a streak of bad luck, neither of them noticed that as they were walking into the food hall of the Inn, a waitress had stumbled and flung forward a full tray of glass mugs and cups their way. They were barely able to react before they both hastily caught every single one on nearly every limb on their bodies. They were even able to balance one on their noses! Who knows, maybe the incident in the hallway was just a coincidence and that this was their luck finally turning arou-</p><p>
  <strong>*Crash*</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>*Shatter*</strong>
</p><p>Or maybe not.</p><p>As they both layed on the floor with broken glass all around them, the waitress was spewing countless apologies as she went to go and get a broom. However, as that was happening, Jaune knew that something like this would cost the woman dearly. And if she was working at an Inn for what he would assume to be minimum wage, then she didn't have the money to pay for these.</p><p><em>'It's a little risky as I am right now, but I still need to help her.'</em> Jaune thought to himself. He could already feel the strain on his body from even thinking about using his abilities.</p><p>Regardless, he raised his hand, and a small glow encompassed him and the broken glass.</p><hr/><p>Qrow hadn't expected much when he went out here to see what Amber had found out. Maybe an update with how the Grim were acting around settlements like these. an offhanded comment about a stupid arrogant bounty hunter trying to gain her powers. From what he was told by Ozpin, Amber was a nice person, which he could respect. It spoke a lot about a person if they can remain like that even when they're forced to travel alone. But that didn't stop him from having fun with his Semblance. Now he didn't have much control over the thing. All he could do was either soften the kind of bad luck someone got, or just go buck wild and have it cranked up to the Nth degree. But he just wanted to mess with her, make her trip over her own two feet a few times. Maybe have a pie land on her face. Same old same old.</p><p>He snickered behind his newspaper as he heard the telltale signs of someone eating dirt. Though, he thought that he heard a rather young sounding voice that made it. Maybe a kid caught in the crossfire. Whoops. He's <em>so sorry.</em> Not really...not at all, actually. He didn't necessarily like kids all that much...of course, his own daughter and niece were the exceptions to that along with the...kid...</p><p><em>'Great, way to ruin your mood, Qrow.'</em> He thought to himself as he flipped another page and pretended to read. Of course, he could easily read this, even if it was upside down and backwards. A skill truly useful. His mood slightly rose again when he heard two more plops to the ground. Funny as it was, he was also interested in some of the village news that this paper had. 'A child suddenly collapses and is taken to the hospi-'</p><p>
  <strong>*Crash*</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>*Shatter*</strong>
</p><p>Whatever that article had to say could wait, he needed to see what kind of chaos his Semblance caused others this time.</p><p>As he slightly lowered his paper to see what happened, he saw a retreating waitress shouting a tons worth of apologies, and two people on the floor with broken glass on and around them. He chuckled a little bit at that.</p><p>
  <em>'Ha! I almost feel sorry for you, brunette and kid.'</em>
</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>
  <em>'Kid with blonde hair...'</em>
</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>
  <em>'Kid with blonde hair and blue eyes...'</em>
</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>
  <em>'Kid with blonde hair, blue eyes and uses magic...'</em>
</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>
  <em><span>Wait</span>.</em>
</p><p>"Kid!?"</p><hr/><p>As Jaune finished repairing the glass he was suddenly hit with an intense pain in his chest. He turned to Amber who was still recuperating and quickly deciding that her seeing him like this after using magic that he was specifically told <em>not </em>to do was not a good idea. So he grit his teeth, tensed his gut, and bore the pain before she could see anything.</p><p>Dear lord this hurts.</p><p>As Amber finally shook her head of her confusion, she saw that all the mugs around her were...completely safe? That was...weird. She could have sworn that they broke. She even heard the loud shattering of glass too. But what could have-</p><p>Her head whipped around so fast that there was a possibility that she could have snapped her own neck as she looked to a seemingly fine Jaune. He gave her a confused look as if to tell her that he didn't know what happened either. She squinted her eyes and stared deep into his soul, trying to find out of he was at all hiding something. Because if she found out that he used magic to fix those mugs and made his condition worse, so help her she will bring down a wrath that no amount of godly power will save him from as she would mercilessly-</p><p>"Kid!?" A voice came from behind them. Amber was broken out of her trance as she looked back to see a rather rough looking man approach them. Or more specifically, Jaune. The boy's expression instantly brightened and whipped around to see if his ears had been playing a trick on him.</p><p>"Qrow?" Jaune questioned as he turned. As he rotated his torso accordingly and saw that it was indeed the veteran Huntsman that he had lived for a better part of a year.</p><p>"Qrow!" Jaune instantly sprung up from his seat on the ground and enveloped Qrow in a hug that could only come from him.</p><p>Qrow himself was caught off guard for a moment, just shocked that he literally jumped at him. But...</p><p>"I missed you too, Brat." Qrow said in a warm voice as he hugged the little munchkin back. This was something that he had been worried over the past months since Jaune left. The kid seemed genuinely hurt by him. He hoped that he'd be able to at least clear any bad blood between them when they saw each other again. But it would seem that he was worried over nothing.</p><p>They stayed like that for a few moments before Qrow set him back down and looked him over, trying to see if he had changed at all since he left. So far, only a change in wardrobe. But as he looked at him a bit more, he noticed that there was a certain...sickness to him. His skin seemed to be a little more pale than usual. There were small bags under his eyes from improper sleep, and a slight shake of his extremities that suggested some sort of fatigue or weakness. It was concerning to say the least.</p><p>"Hey, are you alright? You seem pale." Qrow said, getting into papa mode and crouching down to his level and holding a hand up to Jaune's forehead. He did similar things with his daughter, mostly because Faunus children are generally more sensitive to sickness or physical weaknesses. Heightened senses can make them feel overwhelmed at times. So he had to care for his kid as much as possible. Thankfully, Jaune did not in fact show to be suffering form any form of fever. Which was good. He wasn't sick...but that still didn't explain his skin complexity.</p><p>"Um, hi?" Amber chimed in as she watched everything unfold between the two. Obviously, Jaune knew who this guy was and vice versa. But the only people that Jaune would act this way towards was to the family that he told her about. And if that were true, then she had an impression to make!</p><p>"My name is Amber. I assume that your part of Jaune's family then? It's an honor to finally meet you." Amber said politely. Mostly out of respect to Jaune than to the Hunter. Again, not too thrilled to meet one of the kingdoms puppets. But if what Jaune said was true, then the ones he lived with were good ones. Lord only knows how few of those there are.</p><p>Qrow looked from a smiling and carefree Jaune to Amber, realizing rather quickly that she was the Maiden that Ozpin had sent him out to meet with. He only agreed to the mission because he and his family had successfully been able to move into Vale. They were still settling in, but for the most part, they were all able to get a nice house that was only slightly secluded from everyone else. It had a great front yard, an even better backyard. The house itself being two stories high. It's great honestly. The kids have been starting to go back to their old selves, mostly due to their childhood wonder of moving to a new place. Though, there was the glaring fact that Summer pointed out to him. The fact that Ruby may have actually <span><em>imprinted</em></span> on Jaune.</p><p>His Baby Girl...</p><p>His Tiny Wolf Pup...</p><p>His Strawberry Explosion...</p><p>The Silver Lining of his life...</p><p>Imprinted on someone...at the age of <span><em><strong>SIX!</strong></em></span></p><hr/><p>"Don't mind him. Sometimes, he blanks out for a few moments. It happens at random. Though, it most often happens when we talk about his daughter. Probably reminiscing about when she was a baby or something." Jaune said, making Amber nod slightly. She looked into the eyes of the older gentleman and saw only a man that had seen something precious taken from him. Of intense sorrow...</p><hr/><p>
  <span>
    <em>
      <strong>'FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-'</strong>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><hr/><p>Or was it insurmountable uncontrollable, all consuming rage? Amber was never all too great at reading people's expressions.</p><p>Either way, she would love nothing more than to chat with Jaune and his family member, but she really did need to find out where Ozpin's informant was. Now to find where...</p><p>She saw an empty table over a few feet from them with a single plate of food on it, having gone neglected and having a newspaper hanging off of the table.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Oh dear lord he was the informant.</p><p>"Hey, by any chance, do you know what the weather's going to be this afternoon?" Amber asked in a casual manner. It was the question she was told to ask when she met with the informant. If he answered correctly, then she was to tell him what she had learned and leave it at that. If they didn't, then she was told to walk away, and terminate them should they attempt to follow her. Nothing she hasn't had to do in the past, regrettably.</p><p>Qrow looked to her, having been broken from his thoughts and cleared his throat.</p><p>"I don't know, why don't you go to your local farmers market for information on goat milk?" Qrow answered with a tone that spoke of practice. As odd as the confirmation was, it assured that no one else would be able to imitate one of them. Mostly because that the only people that would try to do that would never allow themselves to repeat such lines in the first place. For as smart and evil they were, their over sized hubris would never swallow their pride to say such things.</p><p>"Alright then, I assume you were sent here by Ozpin." Amber said as all three of them went back to his table and seated themselves. The waitress from before had returned with broom in hand and was thoroughly confused at the lack of broken glass and surplus of unbroken glass. But without much thought on the matter, she went and gathered them up and quickly left before anything else could happen.</p><p>"I'm Qrow, as you might have guessed. I am here on behalf of Ozpin. We just wanted to know if anything unusual happened. Any weird Grim activity, an increase of bandit raids on villages, anything of the sort." Qrow said, just telling her what Ozpin wanted to know. He glanced over to Jaune and saw that he was just smiling at him. He wanted to know why he was here, and more importantly, why he was here with the Fall Maiden of all people, but all in due time he supposed. He just smiled back for now before turning back to Amber who seemed to be a little troubled with what his question would imply her to answer with.</p><p>"You could say there's been a few...'developments'." Amber said anxiously. Qrow's expression went from a nonchalant one to one of worry and trepidation. He did not like the way she worded that.</p><p>"What kind of 'developments' are we talking about?" Qrow asked, giving both her and Jaune expectant looks. The two took a moment, looking to each other before turning back to him.</p><p>"The kind that <em>may</em> or <em>may not</em>...have tried to kill Amber for the powers of the Maiden." Jaune said rather quickly. This raised a <em>number</em> of red flags for the veteran Hunter.</p><p>For one, Jaune knew of the Maidens. Which immediately placed a target on his back.</p><p>Two, someone tried to kill Amber for those powers.</p><p>And three, from what he heard, it sounded like these people <em>got away.</em></p><p>"What happened?" Qrow asked. Though, it sounded more like he was commanding them say what transpired on that day. Jaune was going to start on his explanation, but was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea and nearly doubled over himself. Amber noticed this immediately and went to his side, already trying to use her Aura to make him feel better.</p><p>"I knew it. You used your powers to fix those mugs back there. You know that your body can't handle that kind of strain right now. Do you want what happened three days ago to happen again?" Amber whispered harshly as Jaune's breathing became raspy and clutched his chest. Qrow became even more worried as he saw this and actually got out of his chair when he saw that the smaller boy had coughed up some kind of viscous black liquid on the table in front of him.</p><p>"What the hell...what the hell happened?" Qrow asked in a deathly serious tone. In the entirety that he's known the kid, nothing was able to even phase him. Not even a scratch appeared on his face when they trained him. The pail skin, tired look, weakness...the liquid. What in the <em>ever living <span><strong>Fuck</strong></span></em> happened?</p><p>Amber was still trying to use her Aura on him when she turned to answer him. Her expression never shifted from worried as she spoke.</p><p>"It's...a little hard to believe. Even by our standards. But let's go back to where we've been living for the past few days. I'll explain everything there." Amber said as she picked Jaune up and carried him. Qrow nodded instantly, needing to know what happened to make the kid like this. There was absolutely way that he was injured this much from just a few attackers. There had to be something more to it than that.</p><p>"Lead the way."</p><hr/><p>"That's...is he going to be okay?" Qrow finally said after Amber had told him everything that happened during her and Jaune's journey here. When they had arrived at the house of the Lie and Wilhelm, Amber told them that Qrow was Jaune's family, father on Qrow's interruption, and informed them that Jaune had injured himself when he used some of his powers to fix a mess they made. Hanzo nodded in understanding and helped them in healing Jaune to a stable condition. After Hanzo left to talk to the other children, Amber explained how she and Jaune were attacked by three of the Queen's pawns in an attempt to claim the Maiden's powers. But that's where she turned to a still weakened Jaune for the next part.</p><p>"I'll be alright...but it's what got me to this way that you need to worry about." Jaune said weakly with a solemn expression. His face was a little more pale now, and the bags under his eyes had grown as well. Qrow looked between the two and saw how hesitant they were and grew even more worried. If those three weren't the problem, then who was...oh shit, was it the Queen herself!?</p><p>"It's not who you think it is, Qrow. For as strong as she might be, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have put up much of a fight. No, it was...my father." Jaune said as he rested his head on a pillow. Qrow squinted his eyes at him. Brushing aside the most dangerous creature on the planet was not something Jaune would do. If he knew who the Queen was, then he should know what she is capable of. And more importantly he knew when to get serious. He even took the training drones serious. So whatever's got him like this...</p><p>"Jaune...what are you talking about?" Qrow asked. Jaune told him that his family had died in a Grim incursion. What was this father that he spoke of?</p><p>"Qrow, I need you to know that this is something that I had every intention of telling you and the rest of our family. It's just..." Jaune started, his gaze absently spreading across the room. But as he did so, he suddenly saw someone that made his grit his teeth.</p><p>Dux Omnium.</p><p>"I feel my ears burning~." The god sang. Instantly, Qrow sprang up and brandished his weapon. Amber did the same, instantly activating her Maiden powers while Jaune just laid there, not able to do anything other that weakly glare at his father.</p><p>"What the hell are you?" Qrow demanded to know, looking at the figure. The divine figure simply laughed before simply willing Qrow to freeze in place. He didn't bother with Amber, as he knew that the woman would not pose any threat. If he so wished, he could call back the magic from her body in an instant. And the process would not be painless.</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>...</p><p>Hmm, not now. Tempting, but not now.</p><p>"So you are one of the people that took care of my boy. How amusing. I must commend you however. I know for a fact that he must have brought you some sort of displeasure. It is the sad disposition of being the spirit of a god within a mortal's body. It attracts trouble from miles around. And I must admit, reading this adventure has been rather fun. Going chapter to chapter, seeing what our creator comes up with next. All of it has been so <span><em><strong>entertaining</strong></em></span>." Dux said as he glared into Qrow's eyes. The man himself had no choice but to look into the empty void that was the god in front of him. After a few moments, he backed off and turned to a still glaring Jaune.</p><p>"But far be it from me to stop your explanation. The one writing this wouldn't allow for me to destroy anything here...yet." Omnium relented, simply floating at the center of the room. The smug smile on his face told anyone that he knew that he was in control of the room.</p><p>Jaune stayed silent for a moment, a trying to figure out what his father meant. He felt as though he should know. That he was forgetting something that he used to know.</p><p>"Ah, yes, without the Cores you can't realize The Truth, can you? With time I suppose. With time. But enough of that, Go on and tell your <span><strong><em>'FATHER'</em></strong></span>, what you had been hiding from him. No need to worry about me. I am simply here to act as proof." His father instructed, making Jaune even more angry. However, given the fact that he couldn't do anything at the moment, he had to listen.</p><p>"Qrow, This...is my father. It's a...long story. I used to be a...god. My father created me to give life to the planets in the universe. However, when I came to this planet, he forbade me from creating humans. Yet I did so anyway. For disobeying him, he stripped me of my powers and sent me here. When I woke up, I found Summer. And the rest..." Jaune trailed off, giving a very brief summary of his origins. From his position, Qrow only managed to get out a single word.</p><p>"Why?" He asked. Jaune set out a sigh, feeling terrible for having lied to his surrogate father for all this time.</p><p>"I was scared. I was scared that If I told the truth, none of you would see me the same. I thought that if I told anyone, then they would try to hunt me down for my powers. All I wanted was to get to know you all better. I never meant to lie to you. I'm sorry." Jaune choked out with tears streaming down his cheeks. By this point, Dux let go of Qrow and allowed him to move, seeing Jaune look so vulnerable. Qrow just stood there for a moment. On one hand, he just heard that some of what he originally suspected the kid of was true. But on the other...he had a good reason to keep that a secret. If the Maidens were any indication, people would want to try and get him for their own gains. Lord only knows what Atlas would try in order to get their hands on him. Besides, Qrow by this point had already seen what Jaune was like. Just because he was a god this entire time didn't really change what he saw of him. It isn't one's past that defines a person, It's what they choose to be now that makes them who they are. Qrow could relate to that all too much given who his family used to be.</p><p>"Kid...It's alright. Just no more secrets, okay?" Qrow said reassuringly. Jaune calmed down considerably when he heard those words. Assured that the one of the people he had considered family had accepted his apology.</p><p>"Ugh, how boring. This is what they decide to do? Let bygones be bygones? And They used me to let this happen. There had better be a large reward for this. I'm leaving. This chapter has been a waste of my time." Dux proclaimed looking disgusted at the scene before warping away. Amber stayed alert for a few moments before letting out a breath.</p><p>This has been an eventful afternoon.</p><hr/><p>"You know kid, out of all the weird crap I've ever heard, <em>that</em> takes the cake. And considering everything that I've been involved with, is impressive." Qrow said as he sat by Jaune's bed. After all was said and done, Jaune was able to tell Qrow a more detailed summary on his adventure so far. Qrow had sat there and listened, with Amber being there to add in her own two cents.</p><p>"It's...not the best, I'll admit. But I'm trying to find a way to beat him. If I don't, then no one is going to survive the end of this. Not you, not the rest of the family, <strong><span><em>everyone</em></span></strong> is going to be wiped out." Jaune said, looking up at the ceiling with a grim expression. Qrow himself winced at the imagery. So the fate of their lives rested on his shoulders, huh?</p><p>"Don't sweat it. I'm sure you'll find a way. You've exceeded my expectations before. I know you'll do it again." Qrow said with a hand on Jaune's shoulder. The child looked back at him and smiled as well. If nothing else, Jaune was grateful to have his family with him.</p><p>"But, you can't do that if you keep almost killing yourself! Why did you use your magic back at the Inn when you knew that this was going to happen, Jaune? Why?" Amber said from the other side of the bed. Jaune just shrugged and gave her an easygoing smile.</p><p>"She was going to get in trouble if I didn't. Besides, I can't very well let her take responsibility for something that she had no control over, now could I?" Jaune asked as he smiled at her. Amber's eye twitched before taking a deep breath.</p><p>"You can, if it means that your health is at serious risk for doing it! How can you try t save the world when your hurting yourself for every little problem that happens around you?" Amber asked with an annoyed tone. Qrow was right there with her, feeling that Jaune would need to stop that habit of his if he wanted to go about saving the world. However, Jaune shook his head and gave his view on things.</p><p>"That may be true, but If I ignore everything else just to defeat my father, then the world would be left with so many troubles that it would destroy itself anyway. I know that these small acts of kindness might not mean anything now, but if I can inspire even one other person to act kind in turn, then it might inspire even more to do the same. I want to be able to make a world where hatred, segregation, fear and racism are just a forgotten part of history. Where no one has to worry about sending their kids out to risk their lives. Where Faunus and humans can understand that they all have souls. That they're not so different from one another. I just want to make a world where...strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Jaune concluded with a heartfelt smile. Qrow and Amber looked at him with slightly awed expressions. That was...</p><p>"It's horribly optimistic." Qrow finally said while giving him a deadpan expression. Jaune's expression fell a little bit, feeling a little disheartened at his words. Amber was going to smack the Huntsman before Qrow continued.</p><p>"<em>But</em>...If anyone's going to do it, I know it's you." Qrow finished as he gave an assuring smile. Jaune's expression went back to one of happiness and got up to hug the man. Qrow smiled and hugging him back, being mindful of the boy's weak state.</p><p>"Thank you Qrow." Jaune whispered. Qrow nodded in understanding and pulled back, letting Jaune lay back down. He then turned back to Amber, going to go over what he was going to tell Ozpin when he got back.</p><p>"Alright, so I'm just going to tell him that you two were attacked by three of the Queen's pawns, right?" Qrow asked, getting a nod from both her and Jaune. Qrow nodded in turn before continuing.</p><p>"And that you two were able to fend them off."</p><p>Another nod.</p><p>"But leave out the whole part of Jaune and his father being gods, and said father planning to destroy everything if Jaune fails to beat him."</p><p>Even more nodding.</p><p>"Got it. Well, it's been nice catching up, kid. But I do have to get back. Otherwise Ozpin isn't the only one that's going to start worrying where I went." Qrow said in a half joking matter.</p><p>"It's alright, Qrow. Just...tell the family I said hi, okay?" Jaune requested.</p><p>"Alright, sure." Qrow said, getting up to leave and heading for the door. However, as he was going to open the door, Jaune spoke up one more time.</p><p>"Wait, Qrow." Jaune called, making the older man look back from the doorframe.</p><p>"What's-"</p><p>"I love you, dad."</p><p>"..."</p><p>.</p><p>"..."</p><p>..</p><p>"..."</p><p>…</p><p>"I love you too, kid." Qrow finally responded before leaving and closing the door behind him. Jaune's smile grew just a tiny bit larger, feeling satisfied that he was able to say that finally. To his side, Amber was about to burst with excitement.</p><p>"<em>Awwwww~</em>! That was so CUTE! My heart is going to melt!"</p><p>"<em>Gack!</em> Amber! I can't breath!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Qrow was still on his way back from Kuroyuri, almost back to Beacon. He was currently taking a Bullhead to Vale as it happens as he wanted to take a break from flying in his bird form. All in all, he felt a little conflicted about what he learned while there, but still happy. He did get to see the kid after all. So that was a plus!</p><p>On the other hand, the kid was also sickly and kind of dying...</p><p>And he knew of the Maidens and the Queen, automatically making him a target.</p><p>And the fact that he had already been attacked by not only the Queen's pawns but also his own father...</p><p>Which also brought up the subject that the kid was one of the two Brothers and that he has to somehow regain back that godhood and kill said father, otherwise they will come and wipe out all of creation as they know it...</p><p>But at least Jaune was in good hands!</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Hopefully.</p><p>Either way, the veteran Hunter still had to relay to Ozpin and tell him what he had learned...er, what he had mostly learned.</p><p>"Lord this is a mess." Qrow whispered to himself as he wiped his face with his hand. His tired red eyes scanning the crowd for the hundredth time. No matter how tired you are as a Hunter, you always have to check your surroundings frequently. It's also something that was drilled into his head by his old tribe as well...</p><p><span><em>"We will be reaching our destination shortly. Please bear with us as we descend onto the landing pad. Thank you."</em></span> The PA system announced as the ship started to lower itself for a landing. Qrow shook his head of his thoughts as he got up and started heading up to the exit, passing a number of teens and a few adults that stumbled as turbulence took hold. He, being a grizzled and experienced Huntsman, was perfectly balanced as he made his way across the floor.</p><p>
  <strong>*Thud*</strong>
</p><p>"Ow!" A random civilian cried as they tripped over their own shoelaces. They stared at their shows as they knew that they had tied them before getting up from their seat...</p><p>"Hehe, gets a chuckle outta' me every time." Qrow said to himself as he reigned his Semblance back in. He looked forward and saw that they had now landed and the doors were now open. He walked out and took a deep breath, taking in the scenery before him.</p><p>A jumble of trash flying with the wind, the air quality being less than optimal, the roads and sidewalks looking cracked and borderline broken...</p><p>"Get out of my way you fuckin <em>Faunus!</em>"</p><p>The blatant racism too. Can't forget about the racism.</p><p>"P-please sir, I didn't mean any harm. I-I'll get out of your way." The Faunus child whimpered, before scurrying off into an ally. The guy that yelled at him scoffed before turning around to go about his day, never noticing another Faunus kid having stolen his wallet and watch while he was distracted and ran into that same alleyway as before.</p><p><em>'Ah, Vale. It's good to be back.' </em>Qrow thought to himself as he smiled. He quickly made his way towards the main streets and made sure to secure his money and anything else that would be valuable before continuing on with his journey.</p><hr/><p>Approaching the cliffside that he had been thrown off while he was here, Qrow was actually in a good mood. His walk here was rather peaceful, all thing s considered.</p><p>Only <em>two</em> people tried to pickpocket him this time!</p><p>"Here we go." Qrow thought out loud as he transformed into his bird form and flew up the cliffside and glided high above the rooves of the buildings that made up Beacon Academy. The school that his little girl wanted to go to.</p><p>
  <em>"I want to go to Beacon! Just like you, daddy!"</em>
</p><p><em>'Not now, Qrow. Don't start crying now.'</em> The man thought as he held back the proud and happy tears that threatened to break loose. Undoubtedly one of the happiest days of his life when he heard her say those words. Of course, the choice of profession was cause for concern, especially with that close call with Summer, but that just meant that he needed to train her sufficiently. She already had the Silver Eyes, so she was going to have to get involved one way or another. It was best that she be prepared and not be helpless when it happened. But Qrow Digresses. That was for when he got back home, he just needed to get to Ozpin, give him the info and <em>then</em> head home.</p><p>So as he entered the window of Ozpin's office with the man himself at the desk typing away at his computer, he landed with a poof of feathers and Aura.</p><p>"Welcome Qrow, I take it your meeting with Amber was successful? You are back a bit early after all." Ozpin asked as he pressed a button on the side of his desk and closing the window before pressing another button and casting the room in dimly lit darkness. Qrow nodded before speaking up, looking away with a hand already rubbing the back of his head.</p><p>"Yeah, well I got a bit more than what would be considered...routine." Qrow answered a bit unsure. Immediately, Ozpin hardened his gaze and put his signature coffee mug down to stare intently at Qrow.</p><p>"Explain." The Headmaster demanded, making Qrow let out a breath and decided to get it over with.</p><p>"As it turns out, Amber was attacked by the Queen's Pawns." Qrow revealed. Ozpin closed his hand into a tight fist before asking in a level and calm tone.</p><p>"Is the Fall Maiden compromised?" The older gentleman asked. The former Tribesman waved his hand in a dismissive manner, shaking his head.</p><p>"No no, she's fine. Completely healthy actually." Qrow dispelled. It caused Ozpin to looked puzzled before leaning back in his chair, seemingly relaxed again.</p><p>"...So what exactly happened then?" The Headmaster asked after a moment of contemplating. Qrow scratched at the stubble on his chin before telling the Wizard of what transpired.</p><p>"Simple, People tried to assassinate her, she fought back, they backed off. Simple as that..." Qrow trailed off, making Ozpin suspicious of what really happened. Especially when he knew that Qrow's tell of when he was lying was to scratch at his chin.</p><p>"Qrow, what else happened?" Ozpin asked in a bit more of a demanding tone. Qrow shifted his eyes over to the man, noticing that he was scratching his chin again and blew out some air, knowing that he had been caught.</p><p>"Alright alright. So, you remember the kid I told you about before, Oz?" Qrow inquired. The Wizard narrowed his eyes before nodding, not sure where this was going. Was he implying that...no, it's better to ask and confirm than to assume and potentially do something regrettable.</p><p>"I do, yes. But what does he have to do with this, Qrow?" Ozpin asked, seeing that Qrow was trying to find a way to word what he wanted to say and being patient.</p><p>"Well, the thing is...he maybe Kinda…saved her from the assailants." Qrow explained, shrugging. Ozpin took this all in and thought on it for a moment, turning to Qrow once again before asking another question.</p><p>"How did he happen to stumble upon the Maiden and the pawns. Plenty of people are attacked by bandits, and most try to stay out of the way. So he must know of Amber's identity as the Fall Maiden. My question is...how?" Ozpin thought out loud, making Qrow nod in understanding. One would only be curious as to how by chance a boy that was of previous interest to them would somehow stumble onto the scene of what would be a decisive battle between them and the Queen and then thwart the attack.</p><p>"From what I've gathered so far, they've actually been travelling together for a few weeks now if not a few months. He didn't figure out that she was the Fall Maiden until the attack. She had to use her powers to fend them off. She said that the leader of the three that tried to attack them had tried to use some sort of parasite Grim in a surprise attack. The kid was able to grab the thing and kill it before It was able to do anything to Amber." Qrow explained. Ozpin closed his eyes for a moment before nodding.</p><p>"I see. So this child...Jaune, I believe...is as interesting as you say he is. However...why didn't you bring him here? I would much like to have a talk with him and get to know exactly who he is." Ozpin said, once again picking up his mug and drinking from it.</p><p>"I already told you that the kid left us because he wanted to travel the world by himself. I wasn't going to try and take him away from that. Not that I think I could anyway." Qrow said, actively keeping his hand from coming up to scratch at his chin. The kid and Amber had told him to purposefully lie about what happened during the attack, and then lie again afterwards without his tell so that Ozpin wouldn't be as suspicious. Luckily, It worked.</p><p>"Right. I suppose there's nothing else on the matter. Though, I will have to hold a meeting with everyone soon over the matter of an attack by the Queen. So soon after Mount Glenn as well...It's not like her to do this. Something must have changed to give her this kind of courage...But enough of that, I will call for you when I decide the meeting time. So go home and spend time with your family. I know how hard it is to move into a new city. Tell Raven and Sumer that I said hello." Ozpin said, dismissing the Huntsman. Qrow nodded and turned to leave.</p><p>"You got it, Oz." Qrow called back as he made his way towards the only other way out of the tower. But it when he was right in front of the elevator when Ozpin called out one last time.</p><p>"Oh, Qrow, one last thing." The Headmaster said, gaining the attention of Qrow as he entered to elevator.</p><p>"Hm? What's up?" Qrow asked as he turned to the older gentleman. The Headmaster gave him a coy smile before reminding him of one last thing.</p><p>"That offer is still on the table. If any of you wish to teach here, My doors are always open." He said offered with a tilt of his mug. Qrow scoffed at the notion before pressing the button and having the doors close.</p><p><em>'Pfft. Teach here. I already got tired of teaching at Signal...Though, I could be there when Ruby and Yang get there...'</em> Qrow contemplated, seeing that the opportunity was there to keep an eye on his daughter and niece. Anyway, that was all talk for another time. He just wanted to get to his wife and daughter right now.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Time Lapse Brought To You By Chibi Qrow In A Bullhead Sitting Next To A Crying Baby And Someone Playing Music Full Blast Without Headphones)</strong>
</p><p>So shaking off the amount of anger towards that one Asshole on the Bullhead, he finally started walking down a dirt path that lead to his house that was only about fifty meters out. The house rested on the border of what would be considered the suburbs and the country side where all the farming is done.</p><p>Really, it was a nice house. Two stories, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a nice basement that he and Tai may or may not be planning to turn into a Mancave, a cellar, a separate building in the back that they were going to turn into a forge, with the initial house being around nine hundred square meters of space...</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Alright, so maybe it was a bit better than just '<em>nice'</em>. It did pay to have an entire family of Hunters and Huntresses. And some of them did have connections in certain places. So...it was less a large <em>house</em> and more of a small <em>mansion.</em></p><p>"Only the best for family I guess." Qrow said to himself as he walked up to the porch of the house. It was perfectly positioned so that they could see anything coming in and prepare aptly for it. They weren't going to get caught of guard like last time. Plus, they were planning on installing a few safety precautions in the future. In all, while Qrow didn't like living in luxury, he would make an exception for the sole purpose of giving his little Strawberry Explosion the best life that he knew she deserved.</p><p>Taking out his keys and contemplating whether or not he should get a car, he then unlocked his door and entered, popping his neck and letting go of the tension that had been building up in his body all day. He did <em>not</em> like lying to Ozpin. Not because he didn't want to, no no no. But because about ninety percent of the time, he would know that you were lying and call you out on it. So for him to have successfully lied to him had made him initially paranoid for a moment. Either way, he was home, and he just wanted to unwind.</p><p>"Hey everyone, I'm home!" Qrow called out to the spacious...home. Still on the fence about either calling it a house or a mansion. On one hand, calling it a house wouldn't do this place justice. But on the other, calling it a mansion made him feel like he was violating his principles and feel like a jackass. Ugh, the things he does for love.</p><p>"Daddy!" Ruby cried as she seemingly teleported from the top of the stairs, to the bottom before once again teleporting into his embrace.</p><p>Oh yeah, before he had to leave for his mission, Ruby unlocked her Semblance! Which, if one wasn't paying attention, looked like teleportation. But because Qrow, Raven and Summer saw it, along with an account on Ruby's part, they knew that it was actually Hyper Speed.</p><p>Now this was no run of the mill speeding Semblance. This was some serious stuff! From what Qrow could see and from what Ruby told him, she could move so fast that everything around her seemingly slows down to almost a crawl. She could only do it for short bursts, but it could be trained up to become a truly powerful Semblance. Even now, he could see that she was moving a farther distance than he had seen before he left.</p><p>"Hey there, Ruby. Did ya miss me?" Qrow greeted, picking her up from under her arms and looking into her adorable silver eyes. Her tail was wagging like crazy and her smile threatened to give him a heart attack.</p><p>"Nope!" She responded with a cutesy voice. Qrow smiled in turn and nodded.</p><p>"That's my girl." Qrow chuckled before putting her down. She followed him as he walked through the house and towards the back.</p><p>"So what did I miss while I was gone? Anything cool happen?" Qrow asked as he walked with her into the kitchen.</p><p>"Not really. But I practiced with my Semblance real hard and can move down the staircase before I have to stop!" Ruby relayed, skipping as she kept up with her dad. Qrow gave a proud smile and responded with an awed voice.</p><p>"I saw that! Aren't you the speedy little reaper?" Qrow praised as he reached down and ruffled Ruby's hair, gaining a cute giggle in return. They both turned to the kitchen there he saw Taiyang leaning against the counter munching on some jerky. He perked up when he heard Ruby's giggle and noticed Qrow with her.</p><p>"Oh hey, I thought I heard somebody at the door. Welcome back. Anything that you can tell me happened?" Tai asked as he approached and gave a gave a side hug to his brother-in-law. Qrow returned it and thought on it before shrugging.</p><p>"I mean, there usually isn't, but you know the drill by now. Especially not with...you know." Qrow said, vaguely gesturing to Ruby who had gone into the fridge to grab herself a juice box. Tai nodded before gesturing for him to follow.</p><p>"Hey you two, come on. Summer is upstairs doing her crazy cookie experiments again, I think. And Raven is in the back training Yang on her Semblance." Tai informed them, Only pausing to clarify on what he said</p><p>"Oh yeah, Yang has her Semblance now." Tai explained, once again taking a bite out of his jerky. Qrow raised his eyebrows in surprise before turning a questioning stare over to Ruby. She wasn't paying attention though, and just noticed that he was looking at her and smiled back. Qrow let out a small laugh before shaking his head. She was just like her mother.</p><p>"Apparently, when she activates it, she feeds Aura into it and it gradually makes her stronger and faster after an initial spike in strength. Though interestingly, She can use someone else's Aura instead of her own." Tai said, once again surprising the red eyed man. He hadn't heard of a Semblance like <em>that</em> before. Holy crap these girls were shaping up to become absolute powerhouses!</p><p>"That's great! So how long can she keep it up for?" Qrow asked, wanting to know the kind of Aura that kind of Semblance would chug. They made it to the back yard where Yang and her mother were resting under a tree.</p><p>"Not long. Only for a minute. And she can only draw in so much of another's Aura. But the maximum she can lift when she's used up all of her own Aura is about ninety kilograms." Tai said with a proud smile. Qrow was fearing of a muscle cramp with how many times his eyebrows were rising on their own, but hot damn! She could lift <em>ninety Kilograms!?</em> Just what kind of lottery did those two win to allow them these kinds of Semblances!? They were only eight and six respectively!</p><p>"Hey Raven, Yang. What's this I hear about unlocking a Semblance?" Qrow asked, wanting to hear it from them too. Ruby was just standing next to them going off into her own daydream, mumbling something about marriage and...</p><p>blocking <em>that</em> notion out, Qrow focused solely on his sister and his niece lest he start getting angry all over again.</p><p>
  <em>'Imprinting at the age of six...when I was her age...'</em>
</p><p>"Hi uncle Qrow! And yeah! I get super strong! And my hair lights up, and my eyes turn red like mommy's!" Yang exclaimed cheerfully, giving a sunshine smile. Raven giggled a small bit at her before nodding.</p><p>"That's right. But, welcome home Qrow. Me and Yang were just taking a break until her Aura refills so we can get back to training again." Raven started, taking a drink from her water bottle. Yang had her own, and it was much like her mother's, but the only difference being that it had a bunch of stickers of stars and dragons on it.</p><p>"Anything interesting happen?" Raven asked after putting down her water. Qrow was going to shake his head before he remembered that Jaune wanted him to say hi to everyone. He looked down to Yang and Ruby and decided that he should probably keep it between the parents. He just wasn't sure how the kids would react to being reminded of Jaune. Especially if they knew how badly he was banged up at the moment.</p><p>"I mean...yeah, but I think it's more of a offhanded kind of thing. Like when you see something different on the daily commute." Qrow said nonchalantly. Of course, this would be just another line to anyone else, but to these three adults who made that line so that they could tell each other that they needed to say something without the kids hearing, it meant that something serious happened. Raven nodded and Tai just sighed. That meant that he would have to go get Summer. And since he was the only one that could get her out of her 'crazy scientist' mode unharmed...</p><p>"Alright, alright. I'll go tell Summer you're here." Tai said, turning on his heel and heading towards the house. Qrow and Raven then turned to their respective children before getting their attention.</p><p>"Hey, you kids want to work some more on your weapon designs?" Qrow asked, making both cousins look up at him with stars in their eyes.</p><p>"Yeah! Come on let's go! Hurry up slowpokes!" Ruby answered, getting farther and farther away with each word. Yang wasn't too far behind her, running towards the other building that was not too far from the tree. Qrow helped Raven to her feet as they smiled at their children, feeling accomplished as parents. Considering who their family used to be, and especially their father...</p><p>"HAHAHA! YES! THYME, LEATHER, CHEWED BUBBLEGUM AND BURNED RUBBER! THAT WILL BE MY GREATEST CREATION!"</p><p>"God damn it Summer! Calm down!"</p><p>
  <strong>*Crash*</strong>
</p><p>"We should get moving."</p><p>"Agreed."</p><hr/><p>Later on in the day when Tai was able to calm Summer down and both Branwen siblings were able to pry their children away from the workbench, all four of the had gotten together in the kitchen and hanging around the counter.</p><p>"What's up Qrow? What happened?" Summer asked, her hair still a bit frizzy, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Tai was a different story. He looked like he accidentally pissed off an eldritch god by putting thirteen point twenty-seven milliliters more mustard in it's gyro than it was okay with and it decided to curse him with the agony of having a single piece of charcoal blow up in his face, while simultaneously touching a metal object after rubbing his cotton socks all over the rug and having a five year old bloodhound tear the fresh salami that spilled from his sandwich and got onto his shirt off of him...</p><p>.</p><p>..</p><p>…</p><p>Also, he stepped on a Lego, so...you know. He looks like shit.</p><p>"So, the mission I was sent on to go to that one village that I can't tell you but you know the name of it anyway, right?" Qrow asked, getting a nod from the other three. He knocked on the marble counter before he continued.</p><p>"Do you know who I met there besides the person that I also can't tell you about but you also still know who it is?" Qrow asked again, making the three of them look at him with unamused faces.</p><p>"Could you get to the point, I had to stop my cookie making for this. I was on a roll too. you know!" Summer piped up, pouting. Tai next to her narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, the scorn of a thousand disappointed brothers flowing through him.</p><p>"No yeah, you stopped all by yourself. Totally." Tai grumbled to himself, crossing his arms and looking away. No one payed attention to him before Qrow continued after a beat of silence.</p><p>"...It was Jaune." Qrow finally got out, making the other three snap their attention to him with shocked faces and wide eyes.</p><p>"He says hi, by the way." Qrow continued, secretly taking a picture of each of their shocked faces for later. It wasn't until he put away his Scroll did they respond.</p><p>"You saw Jaune? Are you sure?" Summer asked with a hopeful tone. Qrow noticed that the other two also looked to him with varied looks of concern. Even Tai broke out of his funk and looked to him with hope. He nodded and smiled.</p><p>"I'm sure of it Shortstack. I was even able to talk to him for a while." Qrow said, making Raven Summer and Tai all sigh in relief. This time, Raven was the one to speak up.</p><p>"What did you talk about?" She asked, attentive to whatever her brother had to say. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think about Jaune. She even wore the handkerchief that he made her on her belt on her combat attire. Did it clash with the whole Warrior Samurai aesthetic? A little...but that was besides the point! This was a gift from her <em>son.</em> It was the same with the ribbon that Yang got for her on Mother's day once. She <em>always</em> wore it.</p><p>"Oh you know, how his adventure's gone so far, the people he's met, and the person that he travels with now..." Qrow trailed off, thinking how Jaune was traveling with the Fall Maiden. Should he tell them about that? It seemed pretty important. And so did the fact that he was really sick too...</p><p>"Really? He's traveling with someone? Who?" Tai asked, wanting to know who Jaune was traveling with now.</p><p>"...I can't say." Qrow said, making them all curious and a little worried again. Why couldn't he...</p><p>"All that I <em>can</em> say, is that they're a <em>she.</em>" Qrow divulged, causing more quizzical looks to dawn on their faces for a moment before they all came to the same conclusion. If Qrow couldn't say who it was, and it was a she, and she was with Jaune, and he saw him on a mission that anything within that mission couldn't be talked about...</p><p>"You don't mean..." Raven started but couldn't finish. The unspoken conclusion that the three of them came to hung in the air, carrying a certain authority to it.</p><p>He was traveling with one of the Maidens.</p><p>"That's...At least we know he'll be completely safe, right?" Summer said optimistically. It was at those words that Qrow cringed and started scratching at his chin. The three saw this and grew immensely worried.</p><p>"He is safe, right?" Tai asked, stepping forward and grabbing Qrow's shoulder and tried looking him in the eye. Qrow couldn't bring himself to stare back, and the pit that was in their stomachs only grew deeper.</p><p>"Qrow, what happened?" Raven asked. This was serious, she could tell. Besides the point that this was one of her kids that they were talking about, the fact that anything was able to put Jaune into a corner concerned her. Was it legal trouble? They would have thought that he would have known them already! Or was it something else?</p><p>"He's...It's real bad. guys. He's pale, sickly, and weak. Weaker than I've ever seen him. He's coughing up this black liquid. It...it scared me." Qrow described, only worsening whatever the other three felt. So much was running though their heads and all of them wanted to know one thing.</p><p>"What happened to him?" Summer asked, eyes watery. Of course Summer would feel the most worried, she's the one that found him out in the Grimlands so long ago. She spent the most time with him, played with him, and even let him into her and Qrow's bed whenever he had a nightmare. Granted, Qrow wasn't the biggest fan of it, but the point was, he was just as much her son as Ruby was her daughter. She loved Jaune with everything she had. And hearing that he was in such a state broke her heart, wishing that she was there to care for him and hug him with all the strength she could muster.</p><p>"...I can't say that either." Qrow said, his arms crossed on his chest and eyes shut in indignation. He couldn't bring himself to look into his wife's teary eyes. Tai looked a bit frustrated with him, but knew that Qrow wouldn't withhold information without good reason. However, Yang didn't get her fiery attitude from him, so...</p><p>"And why not?" Raven threatened as she strode forward and grabbed her brother by his collar. She wouldn't be having any of Qrow's cryptic bullshit right now. Not when it involved Jaune. If she found out that Qrow found Jaune like that and simply left him there, then she was going to go out on her own and find him herself.</p><p>"Believe me, If I could tell you I would. But what's happening with him...what's happening with him is something that he wanted to tell you himself." Qrow said, remembering the whole situation with his father and the journey he's taking to beat him. That along with the whole deal with Ozpin and the Queen...</p><p><em>'Just my luck.</em>' Qrow thought to himself as he sighed, feeling Raven loosen her hold on his shirt. She shook her head a little before backing off a bit,</p><p>"Let me guess, he refused to come home too?" Raven asked as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Qrow nodded with a shrug. His sister frowning lightly as he did so.</p><p>"Of course he did. He really needs to know when to get help." Raven mused to herself. All too knowing that while Jaune wouldn't think twice about helping someone else, he did have a tendency to refuse help for himself. She remembered that not too long ago, Jaune had decided that he would make every meal for the next four days. But it wasn't until the third day that everyone realized that he wasn't saving any food for himself and giving it all to them. From then on, Summer and Raven made it a rule that no one would eat until Jaune had his plate first.</p><p>"Is he at least <em>getting</em> help?" Tai asked, asking the question that they all wanted answered. At this, Qrow's face lightened up somewhat.</p><p>"Yeah, his traveling partner got him to someone that could heal him. He should be fine so long as he gets his rest." Qrow revealed, relieving the worries of the other three parents. Well, most of them. Summer was still worried over Jaune. What if something else happened while they weren't there? What if a Grim invasion happened in the village and he would have to fight and worsen his condition? What if his injury caused permanent damage? There were so many questions and doubts that she had for her little boy!</p><p>"Are you sure?" Summer finally asked, looking into her husband's crimson orbs. He smiled down at her, knowing that she would be the most worried for Jaune. He hugged her tightly and stoked her hair, hoping to ease her worried at least somewhat.</p><p>"I'm sure Shortstack. I wouldn't have left until I knew for sure that he was going to be okay. He wouldn't be able to get me to leave even if he tried." He whispered in a comforting and amused tone. Summer smiled as well, knowing that Qrow was being serious. Summer knew how much each of them cared for the blonde boy. And how far they would all go to make sure that he was okay. And while her worries weren't completely quelled, she would have faith that Jaune would stay safe and come back in one piece eventually.</p><p>"Alright. If you say so." Summer said finally. Raven looked at the scene before turning to Tai, who was also staring at her. It was times like these that made Raven glad that she didn't run away all those years ago. That she refused the offer to rejoin her old clan. Because with a loving husband like this, and a pair of brother and sister-in-law like that, and not to mention the two little girls that she cares for along with Jaune, she couldn't have been any happier.</p><p>Well, she could, if Jaune would just accept help and come home, but that was neither here nor there.</p><p>"Hey, I'm pretty sure that it's almost the girls' bed time. We should probably go find them. Oum only knows what happened the last time we left either Ruby or Yang alone for too long." Tai spoke up, looking back towards the other two. He knew that they would need to change the subject as to lighten up the mood. After all, it was seriously cramping up his vibe.</p><p>"Right. I guess we should get on that then." Summer agreed, pulling away from Qrow and wiping a few tears that threatened to escape. Qrow gave a small smile before nodding and making his way towards the rest of the house ready to look for the kids, followed closely by the rest of them.</p><p><em>'All in all, I'd say that went by as good as I'd hoped it would.'</em> Qrow thought to himself as he started up the stairs, already able to hear the little footsteps and giggles of his daughter and niece talking about whatever it was that little girls talked about to themselves.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>(Earlier When The Four Started Talking, Just Outside The Room)</strong>
</p><p>So both Ruby and Yang had heard their parents out in the back yard talking about something called a com...comu...communism or something. And they knew what it meant. It meant that they wanted to talk about something that they didn't want to tell them. How did they know this? Well, Yang kind of figured it out when she realized that whenever they said that specific phrasing, they would all send her and Ruby away to their rooms or to the living room and then talk to themselves in the kitchen. Usually it was all stuff that neither her or Ruby could understand, so they really didn't stick around too long. Except for the odd occasion which detailed what they were going to get for their birthdays, or for non-descript winter holiday, or even the next plan for a vacation. However, this time...</p><p>
  <em>"It was Jaune...He says hi, by the way."</em>
</p><p>Both Yang and Ruby lit up at the mention of the boy they lived with for so long.</p><p>"They're talking about Jaune! Do you think that he's coming back? I hope he's coming back!" Ruby whispered loudly, her tail wagging in a way that only Jaune was able to make it do. Ruby in her princess shirt and red skirt was positively vibrating on the spot with how excited she was. She was so thrilled that her knightly prince was coming back to her!</p><p>Her dreams of being a princess and her his prince! They would play together, hug, and even...h-hold...hands...hehe! She was going to snuggle the daylights out of him when he gets there!</p><p>"Me too! Oh! We should go get ready for him!" Yang suggested, also stoked to see Jaune again. She's been training real hard to be strong like him. So that she could fight the Grim with him. All alongside her cousin Ruby. Together they would be the best Hunter Team in the world! Nothing would be able to beat them They'd destroy all the Grim, beat up all the bad guys, make everyone happy, and make a big-big family. Just like when they played house together. Though, both her and Ruby would always fight over who got to be the mommy to Jaune's papa. That was old news however. For they both decided that, why not have them both be the mommies? Neither of them wanted to be the baby, they were both big kids! Besides, It was simple! They both got what they wanted and neither of them had to be sad!</p><p>Win-win!</p><p>They were both going to go upstairs and try to get ready for Jaune's return, but then they heard something come from their parents once more.</p><p><em>"Really? He's traveling with someone? Who?"</em> They heard Raven ask. It broke them out of their excited musings and made them more curious than anything. Jaune was exploring with someone else? Were they fun? Was Jaune friends with them? Of course they would be friends. Jaune wouldn't go anywhere with them if he wasn't a good person-</p><p>
  <em>"All I that I can say, is that they're a <span><strong>she.</strong></span>"</em>
</p><p>Huh. A she, was it? A girl. Spending time with Jaune. Alone...</p><p>"I don't think I'll like her." Yang said to herself as she thought about someone else getting close to Jaune. It left a feeling in her tummy that made her uncomfortable and it didn't feel good. Ruby next to her was already letting out a low but still adorable growl. Her tail wasn't even wagging!</p><p>"Me neither." Ruby agreed, crossing her arms and giving a pout at the idea. Her mom told her to be nice to strangers and they will be nice to you in turn, but she was finding it really hard to do that when the stranger was trying to steal her bestest friend away from her. She had known he would be her bestest friend when one day, something just clicked while they were in the same bed together after a thunderstorm started up and her parents were out of town for a mission. He stayed under the covers and stroked her hair until they both fell asleep peacefully. From then on there, she knew that he would be her partner when they became Hunters! And Yang would be there too! After they came to a compromise, they agreed that they would share his attention with each other. Either way, they would need to figure out a way to deal with this new girl.</p><p>So with a silent agreement between the two, they both made their way upstairs to their rooms and started plotting. Not really hearing or understanding the meaning of their parent's meeting.</p><hr/><p>Qrow was just outside Ruby's room when he heard both her and Yang talking.</p><p>
  <em>"Alright, so we should make sure that he spends more time with us, right?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah! And make sure that they don't spend time with him at all!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah!"</em>
</p><p>The father was curious. Just what in the world were they talking about? Spend time with who? Him? Tai?...</p><p>He should probably ask.</p><p>"Hey girls, can I come in?" Qrow asked as he knocked on the door. There was a slight pause in the room before Ruby answered.</p><p>"It's okay daddy! You can come in!" Her cutesy voice called. Qrow smiled as he opened the door and entered, being assaulted by all the decorations and stickers on the walls. All of it fairytale themed. Everything that Ruby liked and did was almost entirely motivated by her fascination with fairytales. Either Summer or himself would have to read her a story from her bookshelf stuffed with books every night. She would refuse to go to sleep otherwise. It wasn't that big of a deal, seeing as how both he and his wife enjoyed her reactions to their storytelling anyhow. No matter how many times she's heard the story before.</p><p>"What have you guys been up to in here? Discussing how your weapons are going to turn out?" Qrow asked as he sat down in one of the tiny chairs at the tiny table with Ruby and Yang. He was used to it really, having tea parties with Ruby here and there. Yang too, on the rare occasion when Tai isn't available.</p><p>"...We were talking about Jaune." Yang said after bit of reluctance. Ruby nodded with earnest as Qrow was a bit surprised.</p><p>"Really? And why's that?" Qrow asked as he tried to figure out what brought this on. Sure, they still thought about him, as they would bring it up every so often after they moved, but recently, it has kind of died down. So he wanted to know what made them want to talk about it now.</p><p>"Well, we just thought about how he was going to go to Beacon like us, and we thought about that since we were making our weapons so..." Ruby trailed off, poking her fingers together. Qrow smiled warmly at her, then reached over and ruffled her hair.</p><p>"I know you guys miss him, but don't worry, you'll see him again. You just got to be a little patient, okay?" Qrow requested. Neither of them were at all satisfied with his answer and pouted at him. The man winced, not liking how the combined forces of their cuteness was tugging at his heartstrings.</p><p>The sight of both little girls being unhappy did not sit well with him. If he really could, he would have had Jaune come home just to make them happy. Though, that did make him remember the <em>very</em> likely scenario that Ruby had imprinted onto him.</p><p><em>'Deep breaths, Qrow. Deep</em> <em>breaths</em>.' Qrow thought to himself as he ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the words that would please his nieces. But then, he realized something! He could record a video of the kid for Ruby and Yang!</p><p>"Alright, alright. How about this? The next time I see him, I get him to send us a message just for you?" Qrow proposed, looking to the two girls. At first they both kept up their pouts, but with a look to each other, they relented and gave a beaming smile.</p><p>"Okay!" They both said in unison. The father let out a relieved sigh. He wasn't sure when he would see the kid again, but he hoped that he would do it soon. After all, he wasn't going to be going very far any time soon, what with his...injury. So hopefully he'll have an opportunity to see him again sometime soon.</p><p>"Good. Now come on, It's almost bed time." Qrow said, getting up from the tiny chair and stretching his legs. Despite how many times he's sat in that chair, he always needs to flex his muscles, otherwise he's going to get a cramp.</p><p>The girls whines, but otherwise complied as they got up from their seats and headed over to their respective beds. With Yang giving one last hug to Ruby before she left the room and Ruby climbing up into her spacious and comfy bed. Getting comfortable in the comforter and looking at him, waiting for their routine bed time story. He chuckled at her before going to the light and turning it off, briefly bathing the room in darkness before he turned on the little projector next to the door, giving a dim light in the shape of animated stars and comets. He heard Ruby giggle over on the bed, always feeling floored with the idea that all of those stars could be out there beyond their world. She so desperately wanted to go there, to see it all up close. She hoped some day...</p><p>"Alright my little Strawberry, what do you want me to read tonight?" Qrow asked as he scanned the books on her shelf. She hummed to herself before answering her father.</p><p>"I don't know. You choose!" Ruby said, beaming a smile at him. Even in the dimly lit room, Qrow could see just how bright she was glowing. He paused a moment, seeing that his daughter was so happy. He wanted to keep it like this. Where he could protect her and keep her away from all the dangers of the world. Especially since the Queen was making moves on his family. He just wanted his little girl happy...</p><p>But he couldn't.</p><p>Not always, at least. She was going to be sad, angry, foolish, and regretful. But she would be able to do what she wanted, what she always dreamed of doing. She'd be able to do something in the world, change it even. And she'd make friends to be there when he couldn't. And eventually, she'd find the one that would be there for her in sickness and in health...</p><p>Like Jaune.</p><p>Pushing the overwhelming sense to reject any and all boys that wanted to take his girl away from him, he had to be realistic here. Out of anyone that he would think of Ruby getting together with in the future, he really couldn't find anyone that came as close to getting his blessing as Jaune himself. He could tell that he would protect Ruby. That he would be there when she was at her lowest. That he would make her happy, and support her. He couldn't be there forever, he knew that. One day, he was going to go away, and he wouldn't be able to come back. It would be nice that before then he could trust someone to fill in his shoes when he goes.</p><p><em>'...Heh. Good thing I don't have to think about <span>that</span> any time soon.'</em> Qrow mused to himself as he shook his head of the notion. Until that day came, he could just enjoy this time where Ruby was still a kid that relied on her father.</p><p>"Hm, How about the tale of...Sleeping Beauty?" Qrow asked, getting a confirmation from Ruby. He plucked the book from the shelf and made his way over to her, slipping off his shoes and laying next to her daughter, ready to regal her with a story.</p><p>"Alright, nice and comfy?" Qrow asked, looking to Ruby as she leaned into his side.</p><p>"Yeah." She said quietly, staring up at him with wonder and excitement in her eyes. He smiled down at her and began his reading of the book.</p><p>"Once upon a time..."</p><hr/><p>Summer peaked through the small crack in the door as she saw Qrow finishing up the story that he was telling their daughter. The little Faunus now gently falling into a deep slumber. She had made her runs around the house and made sure that everything was locked up before making her way over to Ruby's room and noticed that Qrow was already putting her to sleep. Once he was done, he gently placed her head back onto the bed and placed the blanket over her, making sure that she was nice and warm. He placed a loving kiss on her forehead and just stood there or a moment before letting out a breath.</p><p>"Sleep tight, Ruby. Daddy loves you." Qrow whispered as he slowly retreated from her and towards the door. He turned to see that Summer had already opened the door and was leaning against the doorframe, smiling at him.</p><p>"I told you you'd be a good dad." Summer told him in a low tone as he stood before her. Qrow nodded his head, relenting to the point.</p><p>"I know, it's just...you know how my dad was. I was afraid that I would end up like him If I did end up having a kid. I don't want Ruby going through that." Qrow told his wife. Summer gave him a sympathetic look before letting him pass, backing out of the room with him and closing the door behind them.</p><p>"You're fine, Qrow. You'll never end up like that...I'll make sure of it." Summer said, sticking her tongue out at him. He chuckled at her antics, already feeling a little better. He never liked talking about his father, but when you spent a large majority of your life with the man, all of which was nothing but harsh training and even harsher reprimand for everything you did, It was hard. When he saw the opportunity to escape him and become a Huntsman, he took it. His sister...she almost went back to their tribe when she gave birth to Yang, but that was neither here nor there.</p><p>Stories for another time.</p><hr/><p>As they were laying in bed, ready to go to sleep, Summer had one more question for her husband before going to sleep.</p><p>"Qrow, how long to you think it'll be before we get to see Jaune again?" Summer asked as she turned her head to him. Qrow opened his eyes and turned to her as well before looking up at the ceiling in thought. He stayed like this for a moment before giving his honest opinion.</p><p>"Not for a long time probably. If what he said in the letter was true, then I think he has the full intention of traveling the world for whatever it is he's looking for. That's going to take time." Qrow said, making Summer seem a bit worried, but before she could delve any more into that doubt, Qrow nudged her shoulder with his.</p><p>"<em>But</em>, I know that it wont be any longer than ten years. That's when he'll have to attend Beacon after all. Not to mention, If he really is exploring the world, he'll have to come to Vale <em>eventually</em>. So we'll see him sooner or later." Qrow said, trying to calm his wife. She mulled on his words for a minute before nodding. She still didn't like it, but she understood what Qrow was saying. It wasn't like he was going away forever. It was just going to be a while before they all saw him again.</p><p>"You're right. I just have to be patient. Thank you, Qrow. Goodnight." Summer thanked, getting comfortable and closing her eyes. Qrow smiled at her before doing the same.</p><p>"Night, Shortstack." Qrow responded, also closing his eyes for sleep.</p><p>They both knew that the future was unsure, but they would just have to go with the flow and deal with things as they came.</p><p>For Qrow, that meant trying to make sure that his daughter was happy no matter what she was doing.</p><p>For Summer, it was making sure that they were all prepared for anything.</p><p>They both wanted one thing, however.</p><p>'<em>No matter what happens. I'll be there to protect them.'</em></p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Omake: Ruby Tuesday</strong>
</p><p>So it's been a few weeks since Qrow came back, and they quickly remembered something that was overlooked in their want to get everything settled...</p><p>"Oh Shit! It's Hallows Eve!" Qrow whispered loudly, running through the store, looking for a good costume for his daughter. Tai and Raven went elsewhere for Yang. They took it upon themselves to go out while Summer stayed behind and watched the kids. So far...he hasn't had much luck.</p><p>Looking down one aisle: Empty.</p><p>Looking down the second aisle: Empty.</p><p>Looking down the third aisle: Empt-</p><p>"Wait!" Qrow called out as he saw a single costume that looked to be the right size. He dashed down the aisle with the speed of a supercharged Bullhead and snatched it up, smiling upon the good fortune that he was graced with.</p><p><em>'Size...Perfect!'</em> Qrow exclaimed to himself in thought. He was almost ecstatic that he found a costume of-</p><p>"...Oh. God damn it."</p><hr/><p>Back at home, all four adults stood side by side as they stared at one of two children.</p><p>Yang was happy as could be as she trounced around in her cowgirl outfit. Though, as both Taiyang and Raven knew, it was actually a cow<em>boy</em> costume, they figured that it wouldn't be all that much of a difference. She even had a pair of toy revolvers in her hands and a toothpick in her mouth. She was happy with what she had, all things considered. Tai and Raven were relieved that they wouldn't have to deal with a temperamental Yang this year. Especially since they now knew just what her Semblance could do.</p><p>Qrow and Summer however...</p><p>"I told you, you should have gone with Tai and Rave! How did you think <em>that </em>costume was going to be okay?" Summer prodded, smacking Qrow in the back of the head. He recoiled from the pain before trying to defend himself.</p><p>"Hey! How was I supposed to know that Tai's store was going to get a last minute restock? Besides, I probably would have gotten an eye poked out with how hectic it apparently was." Qrow argued as he pointed at Tai, who was still holding an icepack to his cheek, trying to nurse a bruise that threatened to swell. Summer shook her head as she frowned.</p><p>"That's not the point, Qrow! Did you see the look on her face as she went to her room? I bet she hates it!" Summer practically yelled into his ear. Qrow at this point grew agitated as well, and turned to her with a frown of his own.</p><p>"Oh yeah? Then why didn't <em>you</em> go and get her the costume instead of me, huh? Do you think you would have done better!?" Qrow argued back. Summer scoffed before turning away from him, scoffing at his notion.</p><p>"Don't make this about me, Qrow! <em>Someone</em> had to stay behind and make sure that the girls didn't realize that <em>somebody</em> forgot that it was Hallows Eve!" Summer said, crossing her arms and huffing. Qrow stuttered before refuting her claim with one of his own.</p><p>"Wha-!? Oh <em>NONONONONO. <strong><span>NO.</span></strong></em> Don't you point the finger at <em>me</em> for forgetting. We <em>all</em> forgot about that! <em>Including</em> you! So don't try that with me!" Qrow argued more, finding it ridiculous that she would even <em>try</em> to blame him for forgetting. Raven and Tai both stared at them with blank expressions before sighing and approaching them and bonking them on the head, getting their attention before pointing at the door that's handle was currently jiggling to open. They both froze in place and awaited to see if Ruby was happy, content, or angry with what they had gotten her.</p><p>The door opened and Ruby stepped out, waddling out as the rather...unorthodox costume prevented her from bringing together her legs...or squatting. In her hands were a pair of tiny little maracas which she shook with every step she walked. She smiled as she revealed...</p><p>"I'm a taco!" Ruby exclaimed as she slowly bounced in a circle, each jump accentuated by a shake of a maraca. She laughed and giggled as she moved, the different fillings of the 'taco' parting only at her face. Her arms and legs stuck out of the sides of the shell. After a minute or two of this, she approached her father and hugged him with all her might.</p><p>"Thank you daddy! I love it!" Ruby praised, hugging her dad's leg as much as her costume would allow. He stayed still, as did Summer, before he returned the hug.</p><p>"You're welcome, Ruby. I knew you would." He said with a loving smile...which quickly turned smug once he turned to a pouting and Blushing Summer.</p><p>"Don't you start with me, Qrow." She said simply, turning away from him again. Qrow released Ruby and sent her to get ready with Yang before turning to his wife.</p><p>"Come on. Say it." Qrow goaded, giving her the full power of his smugness.</p><p>"No." She said, still not looking at him. She pouted harder with her blush becoming a little more prominent.</p><p>"Say it with me, 'You. Were. Right.'" Qrow pronounced, taking a step towards her. She sank into her cloak even more at this.</p><p>"Mhm." Summer let out, feeling petty. At this, Qrow chuckled as he grasped her shoulders and placed his head next to hers.</p><p>"I <em>am</em> right. Search your heart. You know it to be true." Qrow whispered, clenching his fist in front of her face in a tiny show of theatrics. That's what broke Summer as she let out a small laugh before relenting.</p><p>"Alright...we were both right." Summer said as she started walking away, making her way to the front door where Tai, Raven, Ruby and Yang were waiting. Qrow deflated slightly before perking up quickly and following after her out of the house.</p><p>As they all walked down the path into the city, they already did a bunch of reconnaissance the other day when they remembered that it was Hallows Eve. And thanks to a few friends and Ozpin himself, they were able to set an ideal trick-or-treating route last night.</p><p>Qrow looked down to see both Yang and Ruby talking excitedly about all the candy that they were going to get. He chuckled, thinking about how they were going to have to withhold the candy from them after tonight, otherwise they'd eat and eat until they get stomachaches.</p><p>"Alright! Let's bother a bunch of old people until they give us candy!"</p><p>"Yeah!"</p>
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